Chibi Vampire: Last Hope
by Talune Silius
Summary: New Blood sequel. Ever since the Ceremony of Blood, life has returned to normal for Kanon. But Keitaro isn't the only person who wants to be with Kanon and being a half-vampire, he's living on borrowed time. What will Kanon do when his time is up?
1. Embarrassment 1

Embarrassment 1: An Average Night

* * *

"What's the rush, Kanon?" the manager of the bakery asked.  
The young, fifteen year old girl put down the boxes she was carrying and wiped a few beads of sweat from her brow. She looked at the manager and gave her a smile. "Sorry, Manager, I'm just a little excited today."

"Oh, and what's the occasion?"

The girl gave a little giggle. "It's almost my birthday. I just can't wait to get home."

The manager just gave her a quizzical look. "But it's almost closing time, ain't it a little late to be celebrating your birthday?"

"Oh.. No. My Mom works during the day so I only get to spend time with her at night."

It was a bit of a lie but the manager bought it without question. She just gave her a playful laugh. "Well, go ahead and take that box to the back room and you can go home early. Okay?"

"Thanks, Manager," Kanon said, bowing before him.

The girl picked back up the box with the bakery's new cookies and brought it to the back room. This little teenage girl with off-red eyes and purple hair tied up in a ponytail was Kanon Usui. A lot has happened to this special girl in the past year. Ever since she turned fifteen, she had been spending most of her afternoons working at Hina's Bakery. All the money she got helped with her family. Electricity and food mostly. It was a job that young Kanon liked working at.

After unpacking the box, Kanon went to the locker room and changed out of her uniform. Absentmindedly, she looked over at her reflection in the mirror. To any passerby that happened to see Kanon Usui, she looked like an average fifteen year old girl in every way, even if she did look a bit young for her age. But Kanon knew better. She was one of a kind and there would never be another girl like her ever again. At one point, she hated what she was. But at this point, she was proud to be who she was. It had made her life so interesting.

Kanon got dressed into her clothing, grabbed her bag and ran out the back door. Like always, she was one of the last to leave the bakery and always stayed late. It was dark outside and the sounds and smells of Tokyo life was alive. It was late November, and the cloudy sky above threatened snowfall. Kanon pulled out her cellphone and looked at the time.

_It's only eight-thirty,_ Kanon realized. _Manager Hina really did let me off work early tonight. I bet my family is still asleep._

Just then a smell went by Kanon's nose that made her heart pound. She brought her hand to her chest. It was such an amazing smell, but even after over a year, young Kanon wasn't used to the effect it had on her body. She could feel the blood within her body boiling. She closed her eyes and laughed at herself.

_Why does it have to be tonight?_ she wondered. _It's almost my birthday. I guess I can take care of this before I go home._

Ignoring the pain that the blood was causing her body, the teenager followed her keen nose to where the smell was coming from. Like most times, it led her straight to the city park where she found a middle-aged man stumbling down the dark path through the trees, probably drunk. Even though it was dark, Kanon could see perfectly fine. Her eyes had gone a dark shade of red as she stared at the man like he was the tastiest thing on the planet. The aroma that came from the man's body was one that a normal person wouldn't be able to smell. But Kanon could smell every bit of him. Her heart was pounding extremely hard, and she felt like her brain might snap from all the excess blood her body was producing. But she waited and watched.

"Stupid woman," the man cursed, raising his fist to the sky. "How dare she rejects me."

Kanon's eyes darted around. Nobody else was around. So she knew that she was safe. She walked up to the man calmly. In her mouth, two razor sharp fangs poked out of her gums, aching to be used. Kanon stepped up behind the man and tugged on his sleeve. When he turned to face her, she kept her head at the ground, hiding her face from him.

"Ehh?" the man wondered, turning to see her. He was slightly surprised. "Where did you come from, Little Miss? You lost or something?"

When Kanon didn't respond the man squatted down so that he could get a better look at her. He was so close to the girl, that she got a good whiff of his body. She had a lot of pain in her own body as her blood was begging to be set free. Kanon didn't wait any longer. She looked up from the ground, showing the man her long fangs. Before he could react, she hugged the man and sunk her long fangs into his neck.

"What the...nnnn," was all the man could say.

Immediately, Kanon felt his warm blood draining down her throat. It was the most amazing taste in the world. Better than the best of foods that she had ever tasted in her life. Meanwhile, as she drank his blood she released all the excess blood that had been building up in her system. It felt so great to get rid of her own blood, taking the pain away. When she finished, she injected a small amount of venom from her fangs into the mans bloodstream. It wasn't two seconds before the man went limp in her arms and she let him drop to the ground.

Kanon Usui was not a normal person in anyway. In fact she wasn't even fully human. She was a Half-Vampire, born from a loving human father and vampire mother. Not only that, but Kanon was also a special breed of vampire known as the Pushuke. Unlike all other vampires, when Kanon was near the blood that she liked, she would overproduce blood. It was a quite painful and annoying aspect that forced her to feed at random times. If she didn't, she would produce too much blood and get a massive nosebleed that could kill her. This man's anger was the perfect blood for her body to react.

"You can really be scary when your hungry," a familiar voice said from behind the girl, pulling her out of her euphoric state from the blood.

Kanon spun around and almost jumped for joy when she saw who had snuck up on her. The young man had spiky black hair and a smooth face with brown eyes. He stood almost half a foot taller than Kanon and wore a long black coat with purple trimming and an insignia on the back.

"Keitaro!" Kanon exclaimed, running up and hugging the vampire hunter. "How did you know I was here?"

"Come on, Kanon. You think it's that hard to track you down for me?" he joked, giving her a gentle smile. He looked over Kanon at the man passed out on the ground. "Don't forget to wipe his memory again."

"Oh yeah," Kanon said completely forgetting.

She spun around on the ball of her feet and raised her hand to the unconscious man. With little effort, Kanon's hand started to glow a bright yellow light. The man's forehead also started to glow with the same color light. After a few moments, Kanon lowered her hand and turned back around to face Keitaro. He was actually quite surprised.

"Where did you learn to wipe memories so well?" Keitaro asked.

Kanon blushed. "I don't know. I just find it really easy."

Keitaro held onto Kanon's hand and the two of them made their way out of the park before the venom wore off on the man. Kanon walked extremely close to Keitaro, putting her head on his shoulder. When she was near this young man, she always felt extremely safe and comfortably. It wasn't even because Keitaro was a half-vampire like her. It was because she sincerely loved him and he loved her back.

"So, where to, Kanon?" Keitaro asked once they were out of the park.

"I was thinking of going home," Kanon said. "You know what tomorrow is, don't you?"

Of course Keitaro knew. It wasn't like she hadn't been waiting for it since July. Kanon was a little over two years younger than Keitaro. He had turned eighteen four months ago.

"You really are excited about your birthday, aren't you?" Keitaro asked.

"Of course," Kanon said smiling. "Come midnight, It'll be my sixteenth birthday."

"Don't most people celebrate their birthdays during the day? Not right at midnight."

She giggled. "Well, I guess so. But most people don't have vampires for family members."

Keitaro and Kanon walked across the street as they made their way to the Maaka family mansion. It wasn't that far of a distance, but Kanon loved every second that she got to spend with her boyfriend. Keitaro worked for his father as a vampire hunter of Cross Organization. It was a very special organization that protected a balance between the humans and vampires of the world. He always worked during the days and every once and a while, spent the entire night with Kanon. Kanon didn't get to see him more than once or twice a week now that he had gone back to working.

She actually missed when he was her job. Back when he was protecting her from his brother and all the vampire clans, she got to spend a lot more time with him. He had gone so far to save her life so many times back then and even saved her from death. She was the only Pushuke to ever give her blood and live to tell the tale. Keitaro had given her his own blood so that she may live. But now that she didn't see him nearly as much, she wasn't too happy.

When they crossed through the barrier surrounding the Maaka mansion, the first person Kanon and Keitaro saw was Kanon's mother, Karin Usui, sitting on top of the roof, starring up at the clouds overhead. When she saw her daughter with Keitaro she gave them a wave. Summoning a few bats she glided down to her daughter. At one point, Kanon's mother looked and acted just like a normal human. But ever since Kanon had given her blood to Karin, the girl acted completely different. It was almost as if she had completely forgotten her life as an unvampire. Kanon just never asked her the truth.

"Good evening, Karin Usui," Keitaro said, bowing before the vampire. He was still amazed by the resemblance between Karin and her mother. "Beautiful night, isn't it?"

Karin went red in the face from how much of a gentleman Keitaro was around her. "Keitaro, you really don't have to act like that around me. It's good to see you again."

"Mama," Kanon piped in, "what are you doing up so early?"

"It's winter," Karin replied cheerfully. "That means longer nights. Plus I wanted to be up to see you tonight. Happy Birthday, Kanon."

"It's not my birthday yet."

"I know, but that doesn't matter." Kanon smile faded slightly. "Kenta would be so proud of you right now."

"I know, Mama," Kanon replied quickly, trying to cheer her mother up. Karin would never fully get over the death of her husband, Kenta Usui. Kanon looked up at the mansion. "is anybody else up yet?"

"Just one," Karin replied.

"Let me guess..." Keitaro said slyly. "It wouldn't happen to be Anju, would it?"

Karin laughed. "How did you know?"

"Lucky guess."

"C'mon, Keitaro," Kanon said tugging on Keitaro's arm and motioning him up to the mansion. "Let's go inside. It's really cold out here."

Karin laughed as Keitaro allowed her daughter to drag him to the Maaka mansion. She really enjoyed Keitaro's company. When her daughter came to her, telling her that she was in love with the vampire hunter, Karin wasn't all that surprised. She thought that Keitaro and Kanon made a cute couple and trusted Keitaro fully. After all, it was because of him that her daughter was still alive and well.

As Keitaro neared the Maaka mansion, he looked up at it and all it's glory. The mansion had recently been rebuilt, thanks of Cross Organization. The mansion had been in such disrepair before, that Keitaro's father, Hotaru Cross, figured the best way to say sorry was have the home rebuilt. It had been an interesting discussion, bringing it up before the Maaka clan. They agreed and had the barrier destroyed for a week while the Mansion was refurbished. Even funnier was that all of the builders had their memory wiped as soon as the project was done. They had no clue of the job that they had just done and now the Maakas had a brand new mansion to call their home.

"I'm home!" Kanon called out, when she opened the door to the mansion and dragged her boyfriend in.

It took a few moments for the two of them to get used to the darkness. But as soon as they did, Keitaro noticed a young girl sitting on the staircase. Anju Maaka. She looked no older than a young teenager but was truly in her thirties. She was wearing another of her gothic lolita dresses with the white lace trim. She had extremely long silver hair and a young face that would make any pervert lose his bearing. In her arms was a large doll with a butcher's knife in it's hand and a striped shirt. The doll was Boogie and housed the soul of a serial killer.

"Welcome home, Little Niece," Anju said in her stoic yet warm tone.

_"Never mind her,"_ Boogie joked. _"She brought home that vampire hunter again."_

"Nice to see you again too, Boogie," Keitaro said, completely ignoring his comments. He looked to Anju. "How have you been doing, Anju?"

Anju just shrugged her shoulders. "I'm doing fine."

_"Yeah, she's definitely lying,"_ Boogie blurted out. _"How can she be okay with all the vampires suddenly annoying her with marriage proposals. Hey Keitaro. You're a vampire hunter."_

"You've finally noticed?"

_"Can't you get those vampires off Anju's back?"_

"Hush, Boogie," Anju said calmly.

Keitaro just laughed. "Sorry, I don't think that I can help you there."

"I think it's cute that your finally looking for someone," Karin added, giving her little sister a big smile.

"I'm not looking for anyone," Anju said coldly. "They're looking for me."

"Can't stay single forever," Keitaro said.

"Don't try to tell me what I can and cannot do, Hunter," Anju snapped.

On that note, Anju left the room and headed down the hall to the family room. Keitaro, Karin, and Kanon all followed her. There was a lot of conversation between the three of them. Kanon was just glad that Keitaro was talking. A year ago, Keitaro was reclusive and showed less emotion than her aunt. But ever since that night he gave her his blood, he changed. He became accepted by the Maaka clan as almost one of the family and became much more social. Kanon sometimes wondered if it had to do with her biting him. She took away all the built up anger from him back then. It must have changed him some way. Either way, Kanon still loved him more than anyone else.

* * *

By popular demand, this is the sequel to New Blood. I just hope you like it. Think of it as season two. This time, it's a whole new game. LOL


	2. Embarrassment 2

Embarrassment 2: Cold Night

* * *

As night fell over the Maaka mansion, the last of the family awoke and came downstairs. Amongst them was Ren Maaka and his entire family. Ever since the vampire war had calmed down Ren's wife and son were finally able to freely visit the rest of the Maakas. Keitaro's first impression on Bridget wasn't exactly the best. She knew all too well of Keitaro, as did all the Brownlick clan. Keitaro was, after all, the vampire hunter that had hunted down Tachibana after she went feral less than a year ago. When she went feral, Glark did all he could to protect her, being her uncle. Keitaro ended up showing up at the Browlick's doorstep and took Tachibana out by force. Bridget may have hated Tachibana and left the Brownlick clan years ago, but she still had a strong dislike for Keitaro and the rest of Cross Organization.

Keitaro didn't think taking out the half-vampire was the worst thing in the world. Glark had locked her up in an attempt calm her down. But once a half-vampire has turned, there is very little that can be done to bring them back. Keitaro could tell that there would be no hope for her when he looked her in her dark red vampire eyes. He brought peace to her life finally. At least that is what he believed.

Keitaro may have never met Bridget before, but this was the first time that anybody had met Tohru Maaka. It was a surprise how much the sixteen year old vampire looked like Henry Maaka. He stood about the same height as Keitaro did and had his hair slicked back. His clothing was a black suit that looked to be worth a lot of money. Even the way that he stood made him look too good for everyone. Karin saw the spitting image of Ren in the boy. That didn't stop her from clinging on to the boy like he was her own child. Anju couldn't even see how she could be attached to him.

"How is it the organization never knew about Tohru or Bridget?" Keitaro wondered, after getting to know Ren's family.

"Because we don't want to be known," Ren said in a cocky attitude. "You think Cross Organization knows everything about us vampires?"

"Yeah, kind of," Keitaro muttered. He turned to Kanon. "Have you ever thought about going back to school, Kanon? I mean, now that the vampires aren't after you anymore."

Kanon shook her head. "I don't think I'd be able to handle school, work, and staying up with my family."

"You should give it some serious thought," he said seriously. "I don't want you to be too lonely."

Kanon was slightly shocked that he would even say that. "Why this so suddenly? I won't be lonely as long as I have you, Kei."

Keitaro gave her a disgusted look. "I told you not to call me that."

Kanon laughed and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I know, but it's always funny seeing your reaction."

Keitaro gave a soft smile. Deep down though, he was feeling down. Keitaro had another reason why he was spending time with Kanon tonight. Even though it was her birthday, he was going to have to tell her the bad news eventually.

"You want to get out of here?" he said in her ear. Seeing the expression on her face he added, "don't worry, we'll be back in time to spend your birthday with your family."

With that, Kanon and Keitaro got up and left the room without anyone so much as looking at them. They were so sucked into their conversations that nobody really cared where Kanon went. But Karin happened to notice her daughter leaving and so did Anju.

"Anju," Karin said, staring at the door, "you think they make a good couple, right? I mean, a vampire hunter and a vampire isn't totally crazy is it?"

"About as crazy as a human and a vampire being together," Anju commented. "Big Sister, are you worried that he might hurt her?"

"I just know that me and Kenta had problems because we were different," Karin said softly, thinking back on her former life. "I just don't want Kanon to go through the same pain I went through just because she wants to be with him."

"Little Niece is in love with him because he lets her be herself. He also saved her life."

"I got a question," Tohru said, butting into their conversation. "If Kanon gave her life at the Ceremony of Blood, why is she still producing blood? Since she has fulfilled her purpose as a Pushuke, shouldn't she be just a normal half-vampire now?"

Karin was surprised. "You seem to know a lot about the Pushuke."

"I know enough to know that the reason you stopped producing blood years ago because the Pushuke was no longer needed." He stood up and stretched. "Something you did prevented a need for you to create blood. So why is my cousin still a Pushuke?"

Karin and Anju were both silent. Tohru, being a fully grown vampire, stunned them with how intelligent he was. He had obviously been doing his homework and knew something about the power of the Pushukes. But Ren could be counted on to take hold of the situation.

"Tohru, stop scaring my little sister," he demanded, getting to his feet. "You don't know any more than they do."

"Tch," Tohru said, walking out of the room. "What ever, Pops."

Ren was obviously embarrassed by his own son's actions, but he refused to show it. Anju just snickered at her older brother. "He's just like you, Big Brother."

"Yeah."

When Kanon and Keitaro left the Maaka Mansion, they stayed near the barrier. Kanon brought Keitaro to her father's grave. There were only two gravestones in the graveyard. One belonged to Kenta Usui and the other belonged to Kanon's great grandfather whom she never met. Keitaro didn't like being anywhere near Kenta's grave because he still felt responsible for the man's death. Kenta Usui was shot down protecting his daughter from Keitaro's half-brother, Yukio Cross.

Tears always came to Kanon's eyes when she saw her father's grave. She missed her papa more than anything in the world and wished he could be alive to see her today. He would be proud of his daughter now. If he were alive today, he would come up to her, hug her, and wish her a happy birthday. She loved her father to death and had a slight father-complex.

Keitaro waited for a few minutes while Kanon said her peace to the grave before walking silently with her to the top of a hill and laying down on the grass. The temperature had dropped at least another fifteen degrees and the ground was freezing cold, but at least the view was beautiful. The sky above was without a single cloud and there were many stars sparkling against the frozen sea of blackness. A full moon was high in the sky, illuminating the darkness.

"Keitaro," Kanon said after a few moments of peace. "You've got something on your mind again don't you?"

"You don't miss much, do you?" Keitaro responded, staring up at the sky. Kanon shook her head. "I guess it can't be helped. I had to tell you soon enough... Kanon... After tonight, I'll be going away for a while."

Kanon immediately sat up and looked at him. "What?"

He expected nothing less from her. "Cross Organization is sending me over the ocean to America to investigate a town half-vampires. I don't know how long I'll be gone."

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I didn't want to ruin your birthday. Kanon, I don't want to go, but I have no other choice. The plane leaves in the morning."

"Why..." Kanon started.

"Kanon, for the longest time, I thought all half-vampires go feral once they get to a certain age. But over the sea, there is a town composed of nothing but half-vampires. There are half-bloods there that have lived entire lives without ever going feral. I think that they found a cure."

"Keitaro, you're afraid that you might go feral someday," Kanon wondered.

Keitaro didn't know how to respond at first. He sat up and looked at Kanon. The truth was, he didn't care about himself. He cared about her. She was a half-vampire as well. Which meant the same thing would happen to her.

"I don't know what to fear, Kanon. But I have to go. If I don't, there may be no other hope." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small purple box with a yellow bow on it and handed it to Kanon. "I got you this for your birthday."

With a shaky hand, Kanon reached for the box. Upon opening it, she saw a beautiful silver necklace with a blue diamond in the center. She literally burst into tears when Keitaro lifted the necklace out of the box and helped her put it on.

"It's beautiful, Keitaro," Kanon said, hugging him tightly.

"You're beautiful, Kanon," he said softly, rubbing her back. "Promise you'll be here when I come back."

Through her tears, she nodded. Without another thought she kissed him ever so passionately. Kanon understood what Keitaro was trying to do. If this was something that he fully believed that he needed to do, she wanted to support him the entire way.

"I love you."

* * *

Sorry for the wait. I've been working on my novels. But now, I'm back on track. Just hope you enjoy this story as much as the first one.


	3. Embarrassment 3

Embarrassment 3: Trust

* * *

It was unknown as to how long Keitaro would be gone from Japan. If things went well he could be overseas and back again within the week. But if things didn't work out... Keitaro didn't care. If there was a cure to half-vampire problem, it may not be too late for him to save himself.

From the moment that he found out half-vampires go feral, he had been searching all over the world for a half-blood who had lived longer than thirty years. But as the years passed, that dream started to dwindle. After a while, Keitaro tried to deny what he was. If he could just stop drinking blood all together, maybe his body would stop craving it every month. It never did and over time, he started having headaches and muscle fatigue whenever that time came around.

Keitaro spent the entire night with Kanon, seeing as it was her birthday. But at the same time, he decided the best thing to do would be to tell the rest of the Maaka family. Not that it mattered but he decided to let them in on his plans now that he was accepted by them.

"I never would have guessed there were that many half-vampires out there," Henry said thoughtfully after sitting and listening to Keitaro's intentions.

"You'd be surprised," Keitaro said, "There are actually more half-breeds out there then full bloods. Most of them never even know what they are. Humans and Vampires have been... well... together forever. Vampires don't realize that they could have children with Humans and many would have sex with a human, erase their memories, then leave without another thought."

He shot a quick glance over to Ren and realized that everyone else in the room was looking at him as well. Ren had slept with many human women and usually used sex to control them. And it had never crossed his mind that he could actually get any of them pregnant. But with the careless look in his eyes, it didn't bother him one bit.

Keitaro continued. "Women would have children and never know who the father was. So, you see, most vampires don't know of the existence and the child usually grows up normal... usually."

"What do you mean?" Karin asked.

"Well, not all half-breeds require blood. Some just never get the traits of their vampire parent. Those are the half-vampires that live an entire life happily without any problems. Then there are half-bloods like me..." He paused for a second and Kanon sensed a small amount of anger in him. She knew it was his self-hatred. "The only half-vampires you ever hear about are the ones that need to drink blood once a month. They are the ones that go feral and are a danger to everyone around them."

"Hunter," Anju said from her seat, "how do you know that going to this town will help prevent you from going feral."

Keitaro shook his head. "I don't know, Anju. But if there is a cure, I want to get my hands on it. Half-vampires have caused Cross Organization problems for years. This is my one chance to stop all of this."

He stood up and said farewell to the Maaka family. Kanon walked him to the door. As he left the room, Bridget glared at him with a stare of venom. Keitaro could feel her eyes on him but he didn't do anything about it. There was nothing he could do without starting a fight.

"You're really going to trust a half-vampire being near Kanon?" she asked when Keitaro was out of earshot. "How can you even let him past the barrier?"

"Keitaro doesn't seem like he would ever do anything to upset Kanon," Karin said in his defense. "Besides, my daughter likes being around him. We shouldn't try to force him out of her life."

"Tch," Ren snickered. "You're daughter acts just like my stupid little sister. She doesn't even know how dangerous he is."

"That's not true!" Karin whined. "If it weren't for him, Kanon wouldn't be with us right now."

"You're still going on about that?" Ren asked, annoyed. "You know it was him who convinced her to go to the elder house in the first place."

"Ren, stop messing with Karin," Carrera said before Karin could continue whining. She was not about to deal with her daughter crying again. "If Karin trusts Keitaro, you should trust her too, Ren."

"Thanks, Mama," Karin said.

"But," she continued, "It wouldn't be a bad idea if Kanon found a normal vampire."  
"But..."

It was no use. The only reason that Keitaro was allowed to get anywhere near the Maaka mansion or Kanon was because Karin allowed it. It was the only thing that young Kanon wanted after the whole problem a year ago. Even Anju was against the idea of Keitaro knowing so much about them. She would like nothing more than to wipe his memory. They all knew that he had taken it upon himself to personally protect them, but they didn't want him to get near them. In all reality, it made all of them nervous to cross him, seeing that he was now the top vampire hunter. Though, Keitaro would never take it out on them.

Kanon walked with Keitaro all the way to the edge of the Maaka barrier before giving him a kiss. "Are you sure about this, Keitaro?"

He nodded and brushed hair out of her eyes. "Don't worry, Kanon. I'm sure of it this time. As soon as I find a cure, I'll be back in Tokyo."

Hours later when Keitaro was sitting on the plane about to leave Tokyo airport, he started wishing that he would have said something different to Kanon. The truth was, he knew that there was a town in America that many half-vampires lived, but he had no clue where it was. He had also managed to leave out the part that this wasn't the first time that Cross Organization had heard of a half-blood town. Keitaro's father had been desperately looking for a cure ever since he found out that his son had awoken. But all the so called towns that they have heard of before were fake and were never found. Keitaro had a very sickening feeling that this was a false town as well.

He also managed to leave out the fact that he had been having massive headaches all night while he was with Kanon. He was hiding it from her pretty well but he guessed that one of the family members saw him. Keitaro was supposed to feed almost a week ago, but he was refusing the temptation again. Now that he was on a packed plane with people all around him, thoughts started to cross his mind.

_"There is nothing wrong with feeding on these pathetic humans, Keitaro,"_ a voice was saying in his head. _"Can't you smell the delicious scent of their blood all around. Go ahead... Bite them."_

Keitaro squeezed his eyes shut as if in an attempt to block out the voice that was in his head. This was a new problem that had been happening recently. His own body was telling him to attack these people. He refused any temptation and even found himself arguing with himself.

_I will not drink their blood,_ Keitaro thought. _I don't need blood to survive._

_"That's what you think, Keitaro,"_ the voice replied in a dark, familiar sound. _"But eventually your mind will snap from the pressure and you will do what you were born to do."_

The voice in his head was not his own. It was a long ten hour flight, with the pain in his head. He even tried taking medicine, only to throw it back up in the toilet. As he looked at his own reflection in the bathroom mirror, he almost laughed weakly from the look of pain in his eyes. He looked like hell, as if he hadn't eaten anything in days. It was partially true. Food tasted like sand and ashes in his mouth, and he was only able to choke down enough food to survive. All he wanted was to live a normal, human life. But this was getting to be impossible.

"Keitaro, you're going to make it through this," he reassured himself. "You have to hold out long enough to find this cure."

He left the small, airplane bathroom and returned to his seat. But as he passed by a certain man sitting in an isle seat, he got a full whiff of the man's scent. Everything in Keitaro's mind went blank.

* * *

If you haven't figured out by now, I like to tell a story through a ton of side stories. This story in no way is going to follow Keitaro and his... problems. I'm just setting up the plot. Just letting you know ahead of time.


	4. Embarrassment 4

Embarrassment 4: Stepping Back

* * *

Keitaro's mind was like a twisted mess of barbwire and thorn, waiting to cut anyone daring to dive into it. His life had only started and he had more demons haunting his past than most people. Sometimes, he just wished he could get rid of the past and continue living a normal life. But in the darkness, where he was unable to shut it out any longer, his past came back to haunt him.

It all had to start somewhere. For Keitaro, the nightmares started four years ago. He had never told a soul about what had happened on the day that he awoke as a half-vampire. All anyone knew was that he had tried to kill himself on that same day. After what he did to that woman, how could he go on living with what he was?

Back then, Keitaro had not become a hunter for his father yet. He still lived an average life of high school. He left the vampire hunting to his older half-brother, Yukio Cross. In fact, back then, he really didn't know much about vampires. He knew from his father that there were such things as vampires out there, but didn't really care so much about who they were. He figured that vampires should be given the same respect that humans were. After all, according to to his father, vampires didn't kill humans when they drank their blood.

The problem was that since his father, Hotaru Cross, spent so much time with his organization, Keitaro was usually taken care of by his brother, who was seven years older than him. Keitaro feared Yukio and hated him with a passion. Yukio treated Keitaro like he was one of the demons long before he found out that his little brother was a half-blood. Keitaro didn't think Yukio ever wanted a little brother, and he blamed young Keitaro for the loss of his mother.

"Your a waste of life, Keitaro," Yukio would hiss in his little brother's ears. "You're no different than the demons that I hunt down."

"You're wrong, Yukio," the boy would respond, with much fear in his voice.

Yukio just laughed at him. "Just be glad you are a human. I wouldn't hesitate to kill you, if you were one of them."

Those words stuck in Keitaro's mind the rest of the night. He was terrified of Yukio and knew that the vampire hunter wasn't lying. Yukio was the best hunter in the world because he had no conscience. He would kill a man without giving it a second thought. Any time Yukio was given a mission to hunt down a vampire, he would talk about how fun it was to kill the target. Keitaro would never be like his brother. As he fell asleep, he told himself silently that he would never become a vampire hunter for as long as he lived. Fate however, had different plans for the teenage boy.

That night, he had a very strange dream. In it, he was standing in this dark area. The only thing he could remember was that on the ground in front of him was his brother. There was this scent coming off the vampire hunter that smelled amazing to Keitaro's nose. A voice was whispering in his ear, telling him things that he couldn't believe. They told him to feed upon his brother; to satisfy his urges. Keitaro didn't understand why he was having a dream like this, but when he awoke in the morning his pillow was covered with sweat. He felt like he had just ran an entire marathon in a matter of a couple of minutes. What was more, was that the sun that was shining in on him seemed extremely bright and hurt his eyes to look at.

It felt like Keitaro had only been asleep for a few brief moments. But according to the clock that was sitting on his desk next to his bed, it was almost time for school. Ignoring the dream, Keitaro rolled out of his bed and got dressed for school. Pondering too much on it wasn't going to help, and he he cast it aside as nothing more than a coincidence. It wasn't a good idea. Keitaro had no clue that it was his time and this day was going to be the last in his so-called normal life.

"About time you wake up," Yukio teased, when he saw Keitaro stumble into the room with his backpack. "You better get moving for school, cause there's no way I'm driving you again."

"I know, I know," Keitaro said, heading for the door.

Keitaro wondered why Hotaru insisted on Yukio watching over him during the day. The boy was fourteen years old. He was old enough to watch after himself. Yukio knew this just as well as he did. But Hotaru claimed that Yukio was protecting him from the vampires. Keitaro didn't really know what he meant by that.

The sun seemed to be extremely bright in Keitaro's eyes when he left the house. He really hated it, for it made him feel like some sort of creature of the night. What was worse, was that nobody else seemed affected by the sunlight. Another thing that was bothering Keitaro was that some of the people that he walked by gave off a mysterious smell. Some were bad, others were good, and some were breathtaking. It was like he was smelling a part of them that no normal human could smell. It gave Keitaro a headache and blurred his vision slightly.

Back then, Keitaro wasn't completely lonely, and had friends at school. He kept to himself for most of the time, but there were a few that he could actually call his friends. Amongst them was a teen named Ichigo, who had been Keitaro's friend since grade school. When he saw the look of pain within Keitaro's eyes, he knew that there was something up.

"Hey Keitaro, you feeling okay?" he asked, looking Keitaro over.

"I've got a massive headache," Keitaro replied, holding his head. "It's just been a bad morning."

"You should go to the nurses office and lie down," Ichigo said quickly. Keitaro noticed a sly smile coming over his face. "Get you out of PE today, you know."

Keitaro snickered. "You just don't want me to show off again in class, do you?"

"Dude, you make all that physical work seem like a joke. No offense, Keitaro, but you are inhuman."

Keitaro laughed a little and walked into the school with Ichigo. It didn't surprise him that he was so athletic. He was the fastest and one of the strongest in his class. He had better reflexes than anybody else. To Keitaro, he just believed that it was due to him being a son of Hotaru Cross. In lamen's terms, perfect for a vampire hunter. Only Hotaru knew the truth about his son, and he was keeping it a secret.

Keitaro decided to go to the nurses office and lie down for an hour or two. He had excellent grade and never tried to skip out of school, so the nurse had no problem with giving him a bit of rest. Keitaro couldn't sleep a wink though, and his throat felt extremely parched. But when he tried to get water out of the drinking fountain, he almost threw it back up. It seemed to burn his throat and seemed to make it drier than it already was.

_What is wrong with me?_ Keitaro thought, lying back down in the nurses bed. _I was feeling fine just yesterday. Does this all have something to do with this dream? Why am I feeling this way?_

_You know why you feel like you do, Keitaro,_ a voice whispered in the back of his head. _Stop trying to ignore it and feed your body's desire._

This was the first time Keitaro had ever heard a voice in his head that was not his own. He thought that it might be brought on by the sickness that he was feeling. He decided to just play along with it for a bit.

_I tried giving my body water, and it only makes things worse._

The voice just laughed at him. He could have sworn that he had heard a voice like this before. _It is not water that your body craves, you stupid boy._

_Then what is it?_

There was a slight pause before the voice answered. It was no more than a whisper in the back of his head, but the voice may as well been yelling. Keitaro's jaw dropped when he heard the answer.

_Blood._

* * *

For all of you who thought that I let the story die, I'm sorry I took so long. I've been working with my novels for the past month and haven't had time to update on this. But I've come up with some good ideas for Last Hope and I promise you, it's going to better than New Blood. You'll be in tears before it ends. See you tomorrow for the next chapter.


	5. Embarrassment 5

Embarrassment 5: Old Friends

* * *

Keitaro was shaken awake after being in the darkness of his memory for what seemed like hours. He opened up a tired eye and realized that he was sitting on an empty plane and the airline attendant was standing over him.

"Sir, you need to leave," she said in a kind but stern voice. "The plane has landed."

"I'm sorry," Keitaro said, standing up and grabbing his bag before rushing off the plane.

_What happen__ed back there on the plane?_ he wondered as he walked out of the terminal. _Last thing I remember was being in the restroom, then blacking out._

Keitaro could still remember the strong smell of blood that came off the man in the plane. He had been going on three weeks refusing his bodies urge to drink blood. That man must have had so much malice in his body that it pushed Keitaro's mind to snapping point. Somehow, in the darkness, he had been able to control his own urges. Maybe all his self training was paying off. But if he didn't want to snap again, he was going to have no other choice but to feed.

_Next time, _Keitaro thought as he walked out of the airport and onto American soil, _I'll learn how to stop blacking out. One way or another, I will fight __this urge to drink blood._

Back in Tokyo, things were going as normal as possible. After Keitaro had left, Kanon did her best to stay happy the rest of the night. She was used to Keitaro leaving for extended periods of time. He was more than capable of holding his own and she really had nothing to worry about. Besides, he would never want her to be worrying about him while he was gone. Kanon knew that she would just have to wait patiently for him to come back.

She never really understood all the technical stuff about half-vampires. All she knew was that Keitaro was doing this for her. The lengths that he went to protect her made her love him all the more. She didn't feel that it was right for him to put so much effort into her when she couldn't give him anything in return. Like her mother, she was clumsy and was more of a burden than a help. Sometimes she wondered if she deserved somebody as special as Keitaro. A boy with the bad past on his shoulders and a girl who was carefree. Maybe it wasn't meant to be.

As the sixteen year old girl drifted off to sleep early in the morning, long before light shined into her room, downstairs, Karin and her parents were in deep discussion. Ren, Bridget, and Tohru had gone home just an hour before. Anju was off somewhere, though nobody knew where to.

"Karin, I don't think it's such a good idea for you to go with us to vampire meeting," Henry said right away.

"Why not, Papa?" Karin whined.

"We made a deal with the elder vampire that we would continue to go to the vampire meeting every year. But most of the vampire clans still don't trust us. It's not safe going out there."

"That's exactly why I should go, Papa," she said. "I don't feel right letting you and Mama go out to the elder house alone. I'm not afraid of the other vampires, Papa. Besides, I'm interested in seeing one of these meetings."

"It really is quite a bore," Carrera replied. "Might as well let her go, Henry. It'd be good for her."

"But," Henry started. "What about the other clans?"

"They didn't try to do anything last year, and they won't do anything this year either," she said, annoyed.

Karin was the only child of the Maaka clan that cared about going to the vampire meetings. It had been that way ever since she was young. Anju and Ren never would go to the elder house if they could help it. Even on Ren's side of the family, Bridget would be the one who went to the meetings. Ren had somehow convinced her that he was not going no matter what she said. For Karin, this was going to be her first time going to the vampire meetings. Henry was the only one who didn't want her to go, but he was outnumbered.

For Kanon, her half-vampire life had built up somewhat of a routine now that she lived in both worlds. Since there were certain expenses that she required in the Maaka mansion, like food and electricity, she was required to get a job as soon as possible. It didn't bother her so much, because working at Hina's Bakery was the only time that she was out during the day. She had left behind all her friends in the human world, so there was no need to go out during daylight hours.

Right at eleven in the morning, her alarm went off. She could have easily slept all day today. But she still managed to reach over with a tired hand and fumble with the alarm clock until it stopped beeping in her ear. She took a quick hot shower then changed into her work uniform before heading down the stairs and into the kitchen for breakfast. Even at such a late hour in the morning, the house was pitch black. She could hardly see where she was going and relied mostly on her memory of where things were. It just seemed like too much of a hassle to turn on any lights. After all, she was the one who paid for the expenses, so she was always trying to save money.

"I'm going now!" Kanon yelled to the empty house in a cheerful tone, before heading out the door and down the hill.

She never really minded being alone during the day. She knew all too well that she would get more than ample amount of time with her family as soon as the sun set. The only problem that she had was that she passed by her old school on the way to the bakery and got to see many old friends. To them, she was nothing more than a passerby. Nothing special. It had been over a year since the entire school had had their memories wiped of her ever being there. But sometimes, she wished she could have her own memory wiped of them. Seeing old friends like Nariko and not being able to talk to her was murder.

"Have you ever thought about going back to school, Kanon?" Keitaro had asked her last night.

Now that Keitaro was half the world away and would be gone for quite some time, it didn't sound like such a bad idea going back to school. Just having a friend to hang out with would be enough for young Kanon Usui. Kanon was not like the rest of her family. She hated being alone more than anything else. It was actually the worst thing about being a half-vampire.

The young girl was so lost in thought, that she didn't realize she was staring at her old friend, Nariko, who was eating her lunch alone. Nariko happened to look up and see Kanon staring at her. She gave her a small smile that came with a wave. Kanon quickly waved back. That's when the girl got up and walked over to the half-vampire.

"Do I know you?" Nariko asked in her high pitched voice.

Kanon nodded. "We've seen each other a couple of times before."

She wanted so badly to just come out and say that they used to be best friends. But she bit her lip and held her comments in.

"My names Nariko," she continued with a comforting smile on her face. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

Kanon thought up a lie quickly. "Oh… No. I have night classes. Right now, I'm going to work."

"Really? Where do you work?"

"Hina's Bakery, just a few blocks from here."  
Nariko thought about it. "I tell you what. I'll stop by after school and come see you."

"You will?" Kanon asked with, lighting up like a Christmas tree. "I bet I can get you some free treats."

Just then, the school bell chimed, signaling that lunch was over.

"Well I guess I'll see you later, Kanon," Nariko said, waving to her before running into the school.

Nariko may not have noticed, but Kanon stood there quite confused for a few moments thinking things over. _She just called me Kanon. I don't remember ever telling her my name._

Kanon felt so much better now that she had a chance to talk with an old friend. She wished with all her heart that Nariko could become friends with her again. To her, It would be the best birthday present yet. Kanon could only hope.

* * *

Keitaro's story will be on hold for a few chapters. It's time to get to Kanon's side of the story. This is, after all, a story about Kanon.


	6. Embarrassment 6

Embarrassment 6: Birthday Surprise

* * *

From inside the Maaka mansion, Karin watched from the confines of her dark room as her daughter skipped all the way from her old school to work. Kanon seemed to be in a much better mood since she got to talk to her old friend. It made Karin smile to know that she would not have to be lonely. The vampire knew that there was no way she could get Kanon back into school. With her entire family living in the world of night, Kanon Usui would have the same family problems that she did growing up. But maybe Karin could help return the memory of her daughter's friend, Nariko.

Even though it was the middle of the day, Karin got out of the bed and went next door to her sister, Anju's room. The girl's room was extremely creepy and it seemed that Anju had started collecting her dolls again. Many of the old dolls had a soul of some dead creep. There weren't nearly as many dolls in the room as when Anju was younger and the way they were sitting around the coffin in the center of the room gave Karin the chills. Even as she crossed the room to the coffin where her sister slept, she could hear whispers from inside the lifeless bodies of the dolls.

_"And what do you think you're doing?" _A particularly nasty doll asked Karin when she was fully inside the dark room. Karin immediately recognized the voice as Boogie, who had his own seat in the corner of the room. _"I wouldn't wake her up if I were you."_

"But it's important," Karin whined. She really despised Boogie, and the feeling seemed to be mutual with him. "Why can't I wake her up?"

_"Hello, dimwit, it's the middle of the day. Go back to bed you stupid girl."_

She completely ignored him and gave a gentle tap on the lid of the coffin. After a few brief seconds, she heard Anju's groggy voice from within. She sounded extremely displeased, being awoken at this time of day.

"Big Sister… what do you want," the muffled voice asked.

"Anju, I need to ask a favor of you," Karin replied in a hopeful tone.

There were a few more moments of silence.

"Go back to sleep, Big Sister," Anju said.

"Please….."

After a few more moments of silence, the lid of the coffin slid off and Anju sat up. She gave her big sister a dirty look. From the corner of the room, Karin could hear Boogie laughing at her.

"This better be important," Anju said softly.

Out in the human world, Kanon came into work with a huge smile on her face. The manager laughed when she saw Kanon. The teenager always looked so carefree and in such a good mood.

"Happy birthday, Usui," Hina said with a smile. "You seem extra cheery today."

"I am," Kanon said, skipping over to the counter. "My friend, Nariko is going to visit me after school. I'm so excited."

"Well I'm glad for you."

The entire day seemed to go extremely smooth, and Kanon was eager for her friend to get out of school. Even the Manager noticed that every few minutes, the teenager would look up at the clock as if expecting it to be time. Hina never said anything about it though. Kanon always managed to bring life to the Bakery. And when people came in to buy something, she always seemed eager to help them out.

The only problem that arose was that when that time came that the schools let out their students, Kanon started getting a little impatient. The minutes rolled over into hours and Nariko never came near the bakery. Kanon tried to reassure herself that Nariko would show up and that she was just running a little late, but as the hours passed, she started losing her cool.

It wasn't long until night started to fall and the manager came up to Kanon, telling her that it was time to close the bakery. By this point, Kanon was feeling extremely depressed. Nariko never even came close to the bakery. She had completely forgotten about her promise to Kanon.

_Of course she wouldn't remember,_ Kanon thought sadly, grabbing a broom and starting to clean up. _To her, I'm just some random person. She doesn't remember ever being my friend. I was stupid, getting my hopes up._

"I'm sorry she didn't show up, Usui," Hina said, trying to cheer the girl up. "I'm sure she just had something important come up."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Kanon replied.

She gave a smile but it was extremely forced. If Nariko still had her memory, she would have never forgotten. It had been well over a year since Kanon had gotten to hang out with any friends. That was one of the reasons that she was so eager to talk with Nariko.

As usual, there was a comforting darkness that greeted the half-vampire as she left the bakery. It was nowhere near "that time" though, so none of Kanon's vampiric senses were awake and even if they were, she doubted it would help her feel any better. Logically, Kanon should not be bothered with Nariko not being around. Other than when she was with Keitaro, she had spent quite a few months being absolutely alone. It had never been able to destroy her spirits in the past. However, tonight was a bit different.

Nariko completely standing her up after promising her that she would visit made Kanon realize just how alone she was in the world. No sixteen year old girl should have to spend her birthday alone. It made Kanon slightly hate what she was. If it weren't for her being a vampire, she would be living a much happier life. In fact, many other things would never have happened that did. For example, she would still have her father with her.

Tonight, Kanon did not go straight home from work. She didn't feel like facing her family feeling the way she did. Her mother would most likely have something to say about it. Instead, for some reason, Kanon found herself going back to her old school. Even the most motivated of students would have gone home by now and the school was surely cleared out for the night. But the gate was unlocked nevertheless and Kanon just wanted to be somewhere where she could think.

_Why are you letting this get to you Kanon?_ the girl asked herself, as she took a seat at a bench right inside the gate. _What did you honestly expect to happen?_

The thought brought a few tears to the girl's eyes but she made no effort to wipe them away. Nobody was going to see her anyways. Just outside the gates of the school, humans walked by without even paying attention to her. It would have been no different if she had been standing right in front of them. To them, she was no more than a shadow on the wall. The sad thing was, was that this was how Kanon saw herself at this point.

She didn't know how long she sat there on that bench crying. It could have been hours and it wouldn't have mattered to her. But everything changed when Kanon heard a familiar voice from right outside the gate.

"Kanon?" the girl's voice asked in an unsure tone. "Is that you?"

The moment her ears picked up the voice, Kanon recognized it immediately. She quickly looked up and over to gate, completely unsure of her own ears. But nevertheless, right outside the school gates was her old friend Nariko. In her hands was a small box, but Kanon couldn't make out anything more than that.

"Kanon?" Nariko said again, opening the gate and walking in. "What are you doing here?"

"Nariko?" was all Kanon could say. She didn't know which she found more surprising; the fact that Nariko finally made it, or the fact that she managed to find Kanon at the school. Either way, the half-vampire immediately got up and ran over to her old friend. "I can't believe you finally came."

But then, Nariko said something that completely caught Kanon off guard. Nariko looked at Kanon as if she were a ghost. "Kanon Usui? This isn't just a bad dream is it? You really are Kanon, aren't you?"

"What do you mean?" Kanon asked, utterly confused. "Of course I'm Kanon Usui… Wait a minute. You remember my name?"

"This is so strange," she replied, still looking at Kanon through the dark as if she wasn't even real. But suddenly without warning, Nariko grabbed ahold of Kanon and started crying. "It really is you, Kanon! I thought you were long gone!"

"What do you mean?" Kanon asked, still not getting what was going on. It took a few moments before she realized. "Hold on. Do you remember me again?"

Nariko couldn't really answer at first so she just nodded. "Kanon, I'm so sorry. Somehow I forgot all about you. Where in the world have you been. Nobody at school even remembers your name anymore."

"I can explain," Kanon said, going pink in the cheeks. In all honesty she couldn't. At least not without explaining what she was. "How is this is possible? How do you remember me? I thought everyone forgot."

"I don't know. All I remember was getting out of school and heading towards the bakery you said you worked at. The next thing I know, I was waking up in the park. I suddenly remembered you. For some reason, you were the only thing I could think about." She paused for a moment and smiled. "I'm so sorry. Somehow I forgot all about you, Kanon. A year ago, you just dissapeared without a word. We all thought you were dead. Then suddenly nobody even remembered who you even were."

_Could somebody in my family had something to do with this?_ Kanon wondered.

"Don't worry about it, Nariko," Kanon said in a cheerful tone. She could finally feel herself calming down. "I'm just so happy to see you again."

A blind person could tell that just seeing Nariko made Kanon's entire night. But the fact that she finally remembered her best friend after over a year of being alone made Kanon even happier. She didn't know how any of this was possible and made a mental note to confront her aunt tonight to figure out just how this happened. But as of now, she treated this moment as if it were gold and would never happen again.

"What is in the box?" Kanon asked, looking down at the small box that Nariko had in her hands.

"I almost forgot," Nariko replied handing Kanon the box. "I know it isn't much, but when I woke up I happened to pass by your manager. She said that she forgot to give you this. Happy birthday, Kanon!"

Kanon almost broke out into tears again when she opened up the box and saw the small chocolate cake that was inside. It must have been personally made by manager Hina herself. These little things made Kanon's birthday the best that she had ever had. She gave Nariko a hug and they left the dark school grounds together. There was deffinite happieness in the air. Up on top of the school, Karin and Anju watched Kanon leave.

"See, Anju," Karin said cheerfully. "You made Kanon happy giving back the memory to her friend."

Anju didn't respond at first. "I guess if Little Niece is happy, it's okay. I just hope she doesn't tell that girl her secret."

"I promise," Karin said. "I don't think she would ever do something like that."

Without saying anything else, Anju summoned a few of her bats and took off on a cloud of them into the night. Karin stayed behind just a little longer.

"Happy birthday, Kanon," Karin said, smiling softly.

* * *

I am sorry that I haven't been updating AT ALL. I really don't have a reason this time just haven't been working on it. I just hope I can get back on track.


	7. Embarrassment 7

Embarrassment 7: Nariko's Suspicion

* * *

Nariko getting her memory back was probably one of the best things that had ever happened to Kanon Usui. However it came with a small price. Karin made sure that she spoke with her daughter about the rules as soon as she came home that night. By the time she came through the door of the mansion it was almost ten at night. Nariko stayed out as long as she could, but had to go to sleep eventually.

Karin was the only one in the family room when Kanon came in. Poor Anju was out with another suitor. Every week, another vampire would show up to the Maaka clan's territory, asking for Anju's hand in marriage. It was Carrera and Henry who allowed them to pass into the territory unharmed and Anju hated it. To her, all the suitors were scum. None of them really wanted her hand in marriage because they loved her. It was because she was a Maaka, likely to be one of the most fertile vampires in the world. A lot of the other clans saw the Maaka clan as special even though they weren't liked very much. It was all because two Pushukes came from this family. Either way, Anju was forced to go out each week and meet the suitors.

"You never know," Carrera had said once, "you might end up liking one of them."

"Those vampires don't care about me, Mama," Anju shot back, in a dark voice. "I don't think a single one of them knows a thing about romance."

It was partially true, but Carrera knew that she was just making up excuses so that she wouldn't have to go out and meet the vampires every week. This week, the vampire up to bat was some old rich one from a nearby clan in Japan. Karin didn't have to wait up for her younger sister to figure out how it would go. Instead she knew that her daughter would want to talk to her about Nariko suddenly getting her memory back.

"Good evening, Mama," Kanon said, coming into the room and plopping down on the nearest seat.

"How was your birthday?" Karin asked, smiling.  
Kanon was smart enough to realize what her mother meant. "Are you the one who gave back my friend's memory?"

"What else can I say except, Happy Birthday," Karin said, giggling. "Anju was the one who did it."

"Thank you, Mama," Kanon said giving her a hug. "You don't know how happy I am."

"Just make one promise, Kanon," Karin said, slightly more serious now. "You cannot tell your friend about what you are. Humans just don't seem to understand vampires, Kanon. Do you understand?"

Kanon was silent at first. It was a bit obvious that she was thinking about telling Nariko the truth. She doubted that Nariko would stop being friends with her just because she wasn't human. But she didn't want Anju erasing her friend's memory again. So after a few moments she nodded.

"I understand, Mama."

After that night, meeting Nariko after school started becoming a bit of a habit. Kanon would wake up at around noon and get ready for work. She would pass by the school on her way and usually say a few things to her friend before school. After she closed the bakery at night, she would go by Nariko's house and spend about an hour with her before Nariko went to bed and Kanon went home to spend at least half the night with her family before going to bed again. This went on for almost two weeks with only one small problem. Nariko started wondering why Kanon didn't go to school and always managed to be wide awake in the dead of night.

"You're like some sort of vampire," Nariko teased one night.

It may have been just a joke and Kanon gave a forced laugh. But on the inside, she was extremely nervous. What if she found out about her secret? Kanon wasn't the best liar in the world and her cover-up sucked at best. She tried telling Nariko that she transferred schools after her father died in a car accident. When Nariko asked what school she attended she couldn't come up with a name and said she took night classes now. Nariko obviously didn't buy it and started getting suspicious of her friend.

_If Nariko finds out the truth about me and my family, Anju will have to erase her memories again and I'll be all alone,_ the half-vampire thought sadly. _I could never let that happen again._

Luckily enough for her, nothing happened until about two weeks later. Kanon happened to be talking with Nariko outside her house when Kanon got call on her cell phone. She was actually quite surprised when she realized that it was none other than Keitaro calling her. This was the first time since he had left that he had been in contact and not one night had passed that she wondered if he was alright.

"I was wondering when you would call," Kanon said immediately, answering the phone.

"Sorry, Kanon," Keitaro voice said, sounding slightly tired. "I've been busy lately."

"That's okay," she said, smiling brightly. "It's just good to hear your voice. How's it going over there? Did you find what you were looking for?"

There was a slight pause before Keitaro answered. And when he did, it sounded as if he was a bit disappointed. Kanon hardly noticed it though.

"I found exactly what I was looking for… But…." There was another pause. "I might not be back for at least another week or two."

"Why so long?" Kanon asked immediately.

"I'll tell you when I get back. I can't talk for much longer Kanon. I'm…. sorry for bringing this news to you."

With that, he just hung up. There wasn't even a "goodbye" or an "I love you" before he hung up. He didn't give Kanon any time to say what she wanted to and that really hit home for her. The entire time that she was on the phone, Nariko was sitting there looking at Kanon with the most peculiar of looks.

"Who was that?" she asked.

"It was just Keitaro," Kanon said softly, putting her phone back in her pocket. She caught the confused look on Nariko's face and giggled. "Sorry, I never told you about Keitaro Cross. He's my boyfriend."

The moment she said boyfriend, Nariko's eyes lit up like fireworks. She immediately started laughing. "You never told me you had a boyfriend, Kanon."

"I forgot to tell you," Kanon said, blushing.

"How could you forget that you have a boyfriend?" she asked, still laughing. "How old is he? Does he go to your school?"

"No," she replied. "He doesn't go to school anymore. He's eighteen years old."

"I didn't know you were into older boys, Kanon," Nariko teased. "So where is this lucky boy?"

Kanon obviously couldn't tell her that Keitaro was a vampire hunter and that he was across the ocean in America. Instead Kanon told Nariko that he had been visiting some family members for the past few weeks.

"You sure are a mystery, Kanon Usui," Nariko said, looking her over. "You mysteriously switch schools without warning, and then suddenly nobody remembers who you are. You seem so fine with the night and I never see you with anybody else. You never tell me anything about you. Kanon, tell me the truth. I don't even think I know who you are anymore."

Kanon had been afraid of this ever since Nariko had gotten her memory back. It's true that she hadn't told her friend anything about herself. She couldn't even tell Nariko where she lived. It was only natural that her friend would start wondering what was up. But what could Kanon do? She made a promise not to tell Nariko that she was a half-vampire. Basically she had to keep her entire life a secret from everybody.

"Do you really think that I'm hiding something from you?" Kanon asked steadily.

"Yes I do." She didn't even pause before she answered. "Kanon, I don't want to sound crazy or something, but it's like you aren't even a human sometimes. You don't act normal. At least you don't act the way you used to."

_She's really on to me,_ Kanon thought nervously. _Please, Nariko. Don't make me tell you the truth. If I tell you, you're going to have to get your memory erased again._

Kanon was backed into a corner at this point and had no way to turn. The way Nariko was eyeing her; she was going to have to give an answer now. But when she opened her mouth, no sound came out.


	8. Embarrassment 8

Embarrassment 8: Keeping Secrets

* * *

It was common knowledge that vampires and humans didn't mix well. It wasn't really the human's fault though. It's hard to trust something that feeds on your blood, even if you do know that it won't kill you. It doesn't help that the media gives off the impressions of vampires as monsters. It's just a fact that humans aren't ready, and may never be ready, to handle the truth about vampires.

That being said, Kanon was in a very compromising situation. Nariko had started putting two and two together and knew that she was hiding something. Obviously the thought that Kanon was only half-human hadn't crossed her mind yet. But if she didn't do or say something soon, Nariko was going to figure out the truth. If she got her memory wiped again, Anju and her mother would never trust her with a human again. She would be lonely again. She would never let that happen.

Things didn't get any better from here. As Kanon stood there like an idiot, pondering about what to do, she started to feel slight pain in her chest. Her blood was multiplying again. But the only people outside were her and her friend. It could only mean one thing. Kanon gave a weary glance at her impatient friend.

_She's getting mad at me,_ Kanon thought sadly. _Of course she's getting mad at me. She's my best friend and I've been telling her nothing but lies this whole time. Mama, what should I do?_

Kanon finally said the only thing she could think of. She couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm sorry, Nariko," she said, barely above a whisper. "I got to go."

Before Nariko could protest, Kanon turned heels and took off down the street towards the park. Behind her, Nariko was yelling something to her, but the words fell upon deaf ears. Tears were running down her eyes, blurring her vision, but she knew the way. Whenever she was upset, the park always seemed to be her get away spot. She knew with the time, there would be little to no people in the park when she got there.

"I hate being a vampire!" Kanon screamed, falling onto the grass near a playground and sobbing.

It was actually only partially true. Kanon really only hated being a half-vampire. She wished with all her heart that she could be one or the other. At least then, her life wouldn't be filled with so much pain. Kanon thought that she was alone in the park but she wasn't.

"There you go again with the crying," the voice said annoyed. Kanon looked up from the grass and saw her cousin, Tohru standing just a few feet away. She hadn't seen or heard him enter the park so he startled her slightly. "My father told me that you and my aunt were extremely emotional. But I never thought I'd see you cry this much."

"What are you doing here?" Kanon asked sitting up and wiping the tears out of her eyes. She didn't feel like speaking to anybody at the moment. But letting her older cousin see her in this state was not what she wanted either.

"Your mother and our grandparents left tonight for the elder house. You do know that the vampire meeting is tomorrow, don't you?"

In all honesty, she had no clue. She had heard her mother talking about going with Henry and Carrera but nothing more than that. Kanon didn't really like thinking about the elder house or other vampire clans. It always gave her nightmares of when she gave her blood.

"Anyways," Tohru continued, "Dad was asked to stay at the mansion for a few nights so he could help aunt Anju keep the barrier at full strength. I don't know why, but grandma and grandpa still have one of the strongest vampire barriers in all of Japan. I bet it's to protect some people."

It was obvious he meant her.

"So why are you here?" Kanon wondered.

"What? I can't visit my own family? I could pick up your scent a mile away." When Kanon looked at him awkwardly, he laughed. "My blood affinity is fear, Little Cousin. So what is it your afraid of, I wonder?"

"You wouldn't understand," Kanon responded sadly.

"Why? Because I'm not a half-vampire like you?"

_That's exactly the reason,_ Kanon thought to herself.

She decided to give her cousin the benefit of the doubt and tell him about Nariko and how she had already started to figure her out. Kanon wanted to be able to stay friends with Nariko, but that may mean she would have to tell her friend what she was. Tohru's response however, was basically what she expected. He didn't really understand.

"You know you can't tell a human about vampires," he said sternly. "It's against the vampire code of honor."

Kanon only knew the basics of the code. The vampire code of honor was created by Cross Organization as a set of rules that vampires had to follow in order to coexist in the human world. Breaking the code of honor was something that all vampires were afraid to do.

"You don't get it," Kanon whined. "What do I do if Nariko realizes I'm not a human being?"

"Just erase the stupid girl's memory then," Tohru replied. "Problem solved."

"That won't solve anything. See, I told you that you wouldn't understand."

Tohru had a cocky attitude about him. The same cocky attitude that his father had. Like all other vampires that Kanon knew, he felt like he was superior to humans. She realized that he looked at a human as if they were nothing more than a source of food. There was no sense in sympathizing with a human. Kanon extremely hated when her family spoke of humans like they were trash because it felt like they were talking about her. She was still very much a human, and wanted to keep hold of the human side of her for as long as possible. At least in honor of her human father.

"You want my advice?" Tohru asked, straightening himself up and brushing the dust off his black coat. "I may not understand the things that you do, Kanon. But I say, if you want to tell this girl that you're a vampire without breaking the code of honor, then just have her accidentally find out what you are."

"What are you saying?" Kanon asked.

Tohru smiled slyly, like a kid who knew a dirty secret. "Well the vampire code doesn't say anything about humans accidentally catching vampires in the act of biting someone. But you better hope she can keep her mouth shut or Cross Organization will be all over your family again."

This was the first time that any vampire spoke so openly about the organization or the code. Tohru obviously knew something that Kanon didn't, which wasn't a surprise. Even Ren Maaka didn't know what his sixteen year old vampire son did every night. Tohru hardly spent any time around any of the family members and was smarter than he let on.

"Are you ready to take that chance, Little Cousin?" he asked, glaring at her. "If not, then you would do your best not to tell her about vampires."

Hours later, Kanon was lying in her bed, simply thinking about the chat with Tohru. He had a good point and gave her better advice than anyone else could have. Basically, he told her the best way to tell Nariko the truth, but warned her about the consequences. Kanon didn't know which to do.

"Papa," she said, rolling onto her side and staring out the window at the moon in the sky, "what should I do? I really wish you were here right now so that you could give me advice."

This wasn't like before. Her father wasn't about to appear out of thin air to save the day. Kanon had to make the decision on her own. She had run off from Nariko tonight and made her best friend angry. But it wasn't worth breaking the code just for one friend, was it?

Kanon didn't work the next day so she was able to sleep in. It was a good thing too, because she had hardly slept the entire night. But before she finally drifted off to sleep she came to a conclusion. She knew exactly what she was going to do now. She didn't wake up until about five in the evening. But as soon as she was awake she quickly got dressed and headed for Nariko's house.

The teenage girl was sitting outside her door when Kanon showed up. It took a lot of courage for Kanon to even approach her after last night. She was determined to tell Nariko the truth about her. The consequences didn't matter to her. If things didn't go as planned, Kanon could easily erase her memory and that would be the end of it. She just didn't want her best friend to be mad at her anymore.

The first thought that came to mind was that Nariko might have been still mad with her, but Kanon couldn't smell any anger in her blood. And when she got near enough to Nariko, the girl looked up at her with a look of sadness rather than of anger. Kanon was taken aback.

"Kanon, before you say anything," Nariko said standing up, "I just wanted to say sorry for yesterday."

This completely caught Kanon off guard and she didn't know what to say at first. Instead she let Nariko continue what she had to say.

"It's just that it is so strange remembering you when nobody else does. I talked with a lot of your old friends and not a single one has ever heard of you. Your own teacher claims that you never were in his class." Nariko looked down at the ground. "I was scared Kanon. It's like you never existed and I was afraid that I was just going crazy. I wanted to know why I was the only one who suddenly remembered your name."

"I can explain…." Kanon started.

She was about to spill the truth but Nariko held up her hand. "Don't Kanon. Last night, I realized that I don't want to know. Something tells me that I don't want to know the truth because it might break up my friendship with you."

She couldn't have been more spot on than that.

"So don't tell me, Kanon Usui," she said. She finally looked up and made eye contact with her friend. That was when Kanon realized that she was smiling. "I guess it's just better that way."

Kanon didn't need to hear anymore before she quickly hugged her best friend. There were tears, but these tears were tears of joy. She couldn't have been happier.

* * *

Like I said, this story is kindof told through many side stories. The Kanon and Nariko was an example of this. Sorry if you thought Nariko was going to figure out the truth. Well on to the next chapter. Please review.


	9. Embarrassment 9

Embarrassment 9: Lone Vampire

* * *

Karin and her parents didn't arrive at the elder house until close to midnight after an entire day of traveling. Getting across Japan to the colder north where the elder house sat was always a challenge for vampires. Due to the fact that they could only move at night, traveling great distances was very dangerous. The Maakas didn't have the money to travel within the luxury of the bullet train so they were reduced to riding on top of the train. The ride took almost an entire day and during the daylight hours, the three Maakas had to take refuge in an abandoned shack. They would have to continue on foot to the elder house as soon as night fell.

The journey wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for how cold it was. Even vampires were not fond of being cold and the Maakas were no exception. It was cold enough that it started snowing before the sun had fully set and continued to snow throughout the rest of their journey. None of the Maakas were dressed to handle the cold weather and the only thing that they had to protect them was a few wool blankets that, as Karin stated, looked to be so old that they were destined to rip at a moment's notice.

Not much was said between Karin and her parents as the night progressed. Karin knew very well that neither Henry, nor Carrera were keen with the idea of letting their daughter return to the elder house. They knew that nothing they could say was going to affect her judgment and they were so far along now that turning back would be little more than pointless. Henry had already made a solemn vow to kill any vampire who dared lay their hands on Karin tonight. The vampires never forget and the Maaka family will never truly be accepted again.

Before long, the three vampires crossed through the barrier, and like something out of an old horror movie, the elder house came into view. There was a tall vampire standing outside the front door of the mansion wearing a black tuxedo. Henry gave him a bow and after a few moments of eyeing all three of them, the vampire returned the gesture.

"You are late, Henry Marker," the vampire noted, opening the door for them. "The other clans are already here and have most likely started without you."

Karin felt so much better when she stepped out of the cold forest area and into the warm building. As the vampire closed the door behind her and her family she actually felt a sense of comfort from the surroundings, but it may have just been because she was glad to get out of the cold. The elder house was designed as a refuge spot for all vampires. If something important were to happen to their race, those here would know it first. Even that being said, Karin couldn't allow herself to get too comfortable here. After all, her daughter almost died here.

The building's sheer size alone dwarfed the Maaka mansion and it was a wonder that humans knew nothing about this building. There were only a few lights on the walls, but overall the place was dark and gloomy. After all, a vampire did not require any light and could see just fine in almost utter darkness. There were a few other vampires that walked around on the main floor. They all gave little more than shy glances to the Maakas before returning to their own conversations. The main attraction however, was down the hall where a metal staircase led down to the basement. Most of the vampire clans were down there.

"Karin," Henry muttered to his daughter before they reached the staircase. "Do me one favor and try not getting separated from us while we are here."

"Papa, I'm not a little girl anymore. I'll be okay."

"But, Karin, I'm just looking out for you."

Karin shook her head. "You don't have to worry about me."

That was never going to happen. Henry had a bad case of the daughter complex and always felt overprotective of Karin. Even though Karin was in no real danger whilst at the elder house, if he had it his way, Henry would never let her out of his sight.

There was a lot of mixed chatter when Karin came down the spiral metal staircase to the basement below. She suddenly felt like she had seen this situation before. Like maybe the last time she was here with Anju and Keitaro. Henry and Carrera didn't seem at all fazed by the looks they were getting, but Karin felt like she was under a spotlight. She tried her best not to look at a single one of the vampires as she made her way down to the floor with her parents.

"Henry, Carrera, Karin," an old man's voice said, coming up and shaking Henry's hand. "I'm glad to see you came."

To get a greeting from the oldest of all the vampires was all it took for the other vampires to stop staring at them. The long, gray haired vampire that stood before them was none other than Alexander Welsh, the elder vampire and owner of the house.

"It is good to see you again, Alexander," Henry said, smiling brightly, shaking the elder's hand.

Alexander returned the smile before turning to Karin. "My dear Karin Maaka, how is your daughter doing?"

"She's been feeling better," Karin replied.

"Excellent. Well now that the last clan has finally arrived, I say we start this meeting."

Other than that one small question, not another word was said about Kanon for the rest of the night. This really seemed to bother Karin. The vampire meeting seemed to go by so quickly with nothing but good news. The main thing that any vampire had to say was how their numbers were suddenly rising. In the past year alone, there had been forty-two children born into vampire families with more on the way. It may not have been much, but this meant that Kanon's blood worked and the vampire race was fertile again. However, nobody mentioned Kanon's part in this.

Karin for the most part, tuned out the entire vampire meeting and focused on those in the room. She couldn't help but notice that some of the vampires were shooting glances to her from across the table. In particular, Karin noticed a vampire in the shadows of the room constantly staring at her. The vampire was 173cm tall and had long blond hair and blue eyes with a red tinted center. The way his hair was combed back and he wore a white suit with so much delicacy made him look very handsome. Karin wondered exactly who he was. Unlike most of the other vampires in the room, this one vampire seemed to keep to himself the entire meeting, never saying a word. He hardly even paid attention to what was being said and constantly shot piercing glances to her when he thought she wasn't looking.

The vampire meeting went on for hours without Karin saying a single word. It was actually a wonder why she wanted to come out here in the first place. She practically dozed off in her own little dream world only halfway through the meeting. She started thinking back to her old life with Kenta and Kanon. Back before Kanon or Karin knew what they were. Back when all that mattered was the family. Nobody loved and missed Kenta nearly as much as Karin did. Even though she hardly talked about him, sometimes at night, she would cry herself to sleep just thinking about him.

Karin never let anyone know about her feelings. Not even her daughter. She sometimes wished that she wasn't a full vampire. Deep down, she missed eating human food and living in the daylight. She envied her daughter because Kanon was allowed to choose which world she wanted to live in. Karin used her vampire self as a mask to hide how she really felt.

When the meeting was finally over, which was many hours later, the mood really seemed to change for the Maakas. Many of the single male vampires from other clans came up to Henry and Carrera asking for their daughter's hand in marriage. Karin giggled silently at the thought of what Anju would say in a few nights time, when they show up to the Maaka territory, trying to win her over. She loved her little sister to death, but knew that Anju didn't want anything to do with love or men. She was still very much a young girl at heart. Karin doubted she would ever find a boy to call her own.

It wasn't long till Karin felt the piercing eyes of the young blonde vampire on her. It didn't take long for her to find him amongst to the other vampires. He was still in the same corner, though he was looking at her as if trying to find the courage to come up to her. This time, when he caught eye contact with her, he went slightly red and looked down at the floor. It wasn't long though, before he came over to Henry and introduced himself.

"Henry Marker," the young vampire said in a very mature tone, bowing before the vampire. "I am glad that I am finally able to meet you in person."

"And who are you?" Carrera asked, eyeing him.

"My apologies," he said. "My name is Takeshi. I don't have a last name, because I'm not with any of the vampire clans here."

"You are a lone vampire?" Henry wondered.

"Yes, Sir. My mother and father were killed and I was raised by humans years ago."

"You look very young for a vampire," Henry commented, eyeing him. "Exactly how old are you, Takeshi?"

"Honestly, Sir, I really don't know. I could be sixteen or I could be six hundred. My past is nothing more than a blur to me now. Please don't ask why."

"I saw you staring at me from across the room during the meeting," Karin stated, walking over to join the conversation.

"I'm sorry about that," he said calmly. "I was just trying to figure out a way to come over and talk to you."

"What did you need to talk to us about?" Henry wondered. "You aren't another vampire trying to ask my daughter's hand in marriage, are you?"

"Not exactly, Sir," He replied. He then looked over to Karin and smiled. "I really don't have an interest in Anju Maaka. But I was wondering about your daughter?"

"Kanon?" Karin said, blushing furiously. "What about her?"

"Well, I was there a year ago when she gave up her blood. I was honestly surprised that she decided to go through with it and when I found out that she survived after the ceremony, I was shocked. I'm not like the other vampires, Ma'am. I think she deserves so much more respect after the things she did for our race. I wanted to meet the girl face to face. At least to thank her for everything."

At that moment, Karin would have instantly said okay and given this vampire permission to enter the Maaka territory. But Henry was quick to respond and shut him down.

"I'm sorry, Takeshi," he replied in the most gentle of voices, "but Kanon Usui is not to be seen by any of the other vampires. You must understand our reasons. It's to protect her."

It was true. Even after the vampire war had ended and Kanon had given her blood, Henry Marker made sure that no vampires would ever come near her. There were still some vampires out there who wanted Kanon Usui for themselves. They didn't see her as anything more than an object. That was why the Maaka barrier was still as strong as it was. Even when vampires came into the Maaka territory for Anju, they were warned not to come anywhere near Kanon Usui. That was just the rule they had to follow.

"I understand, Sir. But with all do respect. I have no intentions in harming your granddaughter. I just wanted to meet her."

"I'm sorry," Henry replied. "It's just out of the question."

"Wait a minute, Papa," Karin replied, getting between them to. "Kanon is my daughter after all. Why can't we let this man see her? Kanon could do well with some outside contact. I really don't think he means her any harm."

"But Karin…."

"And I'll keep some bats around her to watch her." She turned around to Takeshi. "You wouldn't mind if I did that, would you?"

"Of course I wouldn't," Takeshi replied.

"Please Papa. I think Kanon would like it very much."

Henry thought about it for a few moment and Karin could see the wheels turning inside his head. When he didn't reply, it was Carrera who stepped up.

"Takeshi. You can come into the Maaka territory as long as you don't cause any harm to my granddaughter. If you so much as make her cry, I will hunt you down and skin you alive."

"I understand."

With that, Karin and her parents left the vampire alone in the meeting room and headed toward the resting area where coffins were awaiting her. But even as Karin left the room, she couldn't help but look back at the Takeshi. They caught eye contact at the very last moment but nothing more. Something deep down told her that Takeshi would have to be under close watch for the next few nights.

* * *

Sorry for taking so long to update. But the final charachter has been introduced. Takeshi. You are going to know his name just as well as Keitaro and Kanon by the end of this story. BTW Last hope most likely won't be nearly as long as New Blood and probably wont be as epic as the first one. But I'll try my best. Keep up the reviews.


	10. Embarrassment 10

Embarrassment 10: Voices

* * *

It had been a total of two weeks since Keitaro had set foot on American soil. It was two weeks longer than he would have liked to stay and was wishing he could be back home in Japan with Kanon. But he had come to this land looking for an answer. He was searching for something that he knew in his heart he would never be able to find. Now that he was starting his third week without getting so much as a whiff of vampire blood, half-blood or otherwise, he was starting to lose his patience.

It didn't really help that coming out here, he was only given a few possible places to check, all which turned out to be dead ends. And it wasn't like he could just walk up to some random person on the sidewalk and ask them if they had seen any half-vampires. However, Keitaro would have expected to at least pick up the trail of one vampire clan by now. From the lack of clues around him, he was starting to doubt that there were any of them on this side of the world.

When he finally decided to call up Kanon, he couldn't find it in him to tell her that his search was a failure. He didn't stay on the phone with her long and it wasn't until he hung up that he realized how much of an ass he must have sounded like in front of her. But time was starting to run short for this vampire hunter. Even as he sat within the confines of his hotel room at around noon, he could feel his blood boiling within his body. There was a voice speaking to him that he had not heard in almost four years.

_It's about that time again,_ the voice whispered in a evil tone, like a demon on his shoulder. _Can't you feel it? Can't you feel the room getting smaller? The walls closing in to suffocate you?_

"You aren't real," Keitaro muttered, sitting down on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. "This is all my imagination."

_Why are you still trying to fight it, Keitaro,_ the voice continued. _It will all be much easier if you just give in to your urges…. Just like four years ago._

"Shut up!" Keitaro yelled. "Just shut up! That wasn't my fault!"

The voice just laughed. It was a dark and maniacle laugh that Keitaro had heard before. He knew it all too well. It was the same exact laugh that his older brother had. He would never forget it.

_Who are you trying to convince, Keitaro?_ it hissed in his ears. _You know what you did to that woman. You still can hear her screams as you sank your…._

"I said shut the hell up!" Without warning, Keitaro lashed out his foot and kicked the coffee table in front of him, knocking it over and spilling the drink that was on it all over the carpet. Keitaro didn't pay any attention to it and got to his feet. "What the hell do you want from me?"

_You know the answer to that,_ the voice replied, still hissing in his ear. At this point, it was like somebody was having a conversation with him. _Your body wants the same thing that it has always wanted. The same thing you have craved since the first time you ever bit somebody._

"I just drank blood a week ago," Keitaro replied. "It's nowhere near that time."

This time, the voice didn't respond to him. Keitaro looked around the room as if expecting somebody to be there. But there wasn't. He was all alone. He had always been alone. After a few moments, Keitaro stumbled into the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. What he saw was the thing that he feared most. His mind was finally starting to snap.

For a vampire, both half-blood and full-blood, when it was time to feed their features would look different. Normally their eyes would go a darker shade of red, like that of blood and their fangs would grow in size. There were other minor details but those were the most prominent. But this was the first time Keitaro had ever seen his eyes such a dark shade of red. It like staring into a sea of blood. Not only that, but Keitaro could see that his fangs had grown much larger than normal. To put it simply, his body was aching for blood again.

_What is happening to me?_ he thought, as he tried to choke down some water. _Why is my body giving in already? It's way too soon._

After what seemed like hours, Keitaro's fangs retreated back into his gums and the redness in his eyes went away. But he knew it wouldn't be the last time hed see this happen. He was running out of time, and needed to find this half-vampire town quickly. It was the only way he could stop this. All he could tell himself was that they must have a cure for this. Keitaro grabbed his coat and headed for the door.

* * *

Very short chapter this time, but a lot of information. Anyways, I've been wondering. Ever since I started these stories, I have hardly heard what people think of Keitaro. Just out of curiosity is he even a liked charachter. If you could, post me a review telling me what you think of Keitaro. Do you like him? Hate him? think he's way too complex? Do you think he goes good with Kanon? The reviews will really help for future chapters. Much appreciated. Expect the next chapter very soon. It will be a lot longer too.


	11. Embarrassment 11

Embarrassment 11: Darkness of the Mind

* * *

It didn't take long before Keitaro realized that he was rushing things. First off, it was just past noon. Finding vampires in the middle of the day was nearly impossible. It was just that he was starting to get scared that he was running short on time. The thing that pissed him off the most was the fact that he was too young for this to be happening. He was only eighteen years old. Why was this happening to him now? He should have a few years left before he would have to worry.

He thought to look in all the normal places a vampire would be. Secluded and dark areas were his best bet. All he wanted was some sort of clue, but once again, his search gave no results. It was until almost five in the evening though that he realized that he was being followed. For the past hour and a half, he had noticed a man in blue jeans and a black sweater keeping a close eye on him. Whether this man was a friend or an enemy, Keitaro decided to lead him down an alley before confronting him.

Keitaro was in a big city with a lot of people around him. He was attracting too much attention to confront the man out in the open. He found a back alley, making sure that the man in the sweater was still following him. What he didn't expect was that when they were alone and out of the eyes of the public, the mystery man was the first to speak.

"About time you noticed me," he said, taking off the hood of his sweater. Keitaro turned around to face him and realized that the man looked to be in his thirties and had a scar right above his left eye. Keitaro didn't say anything at first, but his hand moved to the pistol in his coat. He let the man speak. "You don't have to tell me who you are, Mr. Cross. I'm not an enemy so you can let go of any weapon you may be reaching for."

Keitaro didn't move his hand. Not until he felt comfortable. "You seem to have me at a disadvantage here, Sir. You seem to know my name, but I don't know yours."

"I'd like to keep it that way." Then he added, "For safety reasons. You're a long way from home boy. But walking around in broad daylight with a Cross Organization uniform on won't make you popular with the locals."

"I'm not trying to appease the civilians. I'm just looking for…"

"Your father has already called and notified us of why you are here," the man replied, leaning up against the brick wall of the building. "Now, would you humor me in telling me why you are looking for the half-vampires? Aren't there enough of them overseas to keep you busy?"

"You're a member of Cross Organization as well aren't you?" Keitaro realized, releasing his hand from his pistol.

"I'm the head of this division, yes," he said, smiling. "You catch on pretty quick. I guess that's why they call you the top hunter."

"It's just a title," Keitaro muttered. "If you are who you say you are, then you should be able to point me in the correct direction."

"Hehe. A little impatient are we. May I remind you that just because your father is the owner of this corporation does not mean you have any power here."

"All I want is a location."

The man wasn't going to give in that easily. "You still haven't told me why you are searching for the town."

"That doesn't matter," he answered, now getting slightly annoyed. "Do you know where the place is or don't you? If not, then get out of my way."

"I'm telling you to just let it go, Cross," The man said a little more forcefully. "Go back to Japan where you are safe."

"Just tell me where it is!" Keitaro yelled.

He advanced towards the man, before realizing what he was doing. He was basically threatening another hunter. The man didn't like it and stepped back, making sure to keep at least a ten foot distance from Keitaro. It was lucky that he didn't try shooting Keitaro.

"It doesn't exist," he replied, angrily.

Keitaro's expression immediately changed from angry to shocked.

"What did you say?"

"You heard what I said, you stupid hunter. It doesn't exist. I don't know who told you that you would find a half-vampire town out here, but they lied. And even if they were telling the truth, do you think that you would be allowed anywhere near it in your state."

"What are you talking about?" Keitaro continued still ignoring the truth.

"I know what you are, Keitaro Cross," the man said. "And now I why you are looking for the half-vampire town. I can see the red in your eyes. That look of anger. I've seen the same chaos within the feral ones. You're becoming one of them."

"I will never go feral!" Keitaro yelled. "I'm nothing like them!"

The man turned his back on Keitaro. This time, when he spoke, he was dark. "Go home, Half-blood. Otherwise I will be forced to kill you. There is no cure for you here. It's only a matter of time before you won't even know who you are."

He started to walk off down the alley but Keitaro wasn't finished yet. "You're lying to me! You're lying and I know it! I will find a cure. You just wait."

It was no use. The other vampire hunter had left him alone in the alleyway with nothing but pain and suffering to comfort him. Keitaro decided there was nothing left for him and returned to his hotel room.

_Kanon,_ he thought to himself as his feet into the room and lay down on the couch. _I'm sorry I couldn't find the cure._

It wasn't long before the half-vampire was asleep. At least in his dreams, he would be able to escape the pain of reality. The painful reality that he was going to throw in the towel. But even his dreams couldn't comfort him, because it was only in dreams that the darkest memories from his mind were brought back into focus. It was all brought back to that day that Keitaro first awoke. Where his life ended.

Keitaro's memories brought him right back four years ago to where he had left off, sitting in the nurse's office at school. The moment that the voice in his head told him that his body craved blood; he did what any respectable teenager would do and laughed.

"I must be going crazy," Keitaro snickered, lying back down on the pillow. "Why in the world would I drink blood?"

_Because it's your nature,_ the voice hissed in his ear.

Keitaro didn't even respond. In fact he was laughing too hard to even think about what the voice was saying. Even though laughing just made his head hurt worse, he just couldn't find the logic in it.

"I'm not listening to you," the teen said aloud, as if somebody was in the room with him. "You are just a figment of my imagination brought on by the headaches."

The voice didn't respond after that, so he believed it to be just a coincidence. After about ten more minutes in the nurse's office, the teenager figured that he wasn't going to be able to rest anytime soon and headed out. He decided to skip class for once. What's the worst that could happen after all? Besides, he could barely walk a straight line by how dizzy he was. There was no way he would be able to even think of concentrating in class.

But what Keitaro got when he stepped outside was anything but normal. The world looked so much different to Keitaro, like he was in some sort of dream. Even though it was no longer as sunny as it had been that morning and now Tokyo's cloudy sky threatened rain at any moment, it still all seemed way too bright for his eyes to handle. Not only that, everything looked much larger to him. It was almost as if he was closer to everything than he actually was. He didn't know if it was from the light, but it seemed to hurt his head even more.

The rest of his sences seemed to have spiked as well, from sounds to smells, to even the wind that was blowing in his face. Maybe if he wasn't feeling so horrible, he would have been able to sit down and enjoy it. But all he could think about was getting out of there. He thought that maybe he was having a minor freak out. I mean, first the voices and now this. It wasn't too hard to figure out something was extremely wrong with all this.

From inside the classroom, Keitaro's friend Ichigo happened to be looking out the window just in time to see Keitaro stumbling off down the road. He figured that Keitaro must have been sent home by the nurse. But the way he was walking, it looked like he could go down at any moment.

_Good luck getting home,_ Ichigo thought to himself. _I just hope you make it home saftely, man._

Keitaro didn't actually go home. In fact, he didn't even go in the direction of his home. There wasn't really a planned destination. He was letting his feet do the walking. It was too hard to think straight with his headache.

Even more disturbing was that every time a car or moped would go by him on the road, he would almost jump out of his skin. It wasn't his fault. For some reason, they sounded closer than they actually were. Each time they went by, he thought they were going to hit him. When he would turn to look at them though, he would realize that they were nowhere near him.

_What is wrong with me today?_ Keitaro thought to himself, crossing the street and heading in the direction of the beach. _Am I sick or something? I've never heard of a sickness that causes these symptoms. How could this get any worse?_

It didn't take long before that question was answered. As he was on his way down the dock to the beach, it finally started raining. He had been expecting it to start from the moment that he left the school and it wasn't the hardest of rains. But it was almost as if he could hear every last drop as they fell past his now sensitive ears and landed on the sand. The good thing was that as the rain continued, the sky got darker, relieving some of the burden on his eyes.

He walked all the way down to the oceans edge and spralled out on the sand, letting the cooling rain hit him in the face. It didn't seem to bother him in the slightest and in fact made him start forgetting everything that was happening. But the moment of bliss was quickly lost as soon felt something stab his lower lip.

"What the…" Keitaro said, quickly reaching up to his mouth.

What the teenager felt in his mouth made his heart stop. There were none other than two long fangs in his mouth and they belonged to him. How he hadn't noticed them before, he'll never know, but he had litterally stabbed his bottom lip with them and they were now bleeding. If that wasn't odd enough, when the blood hit his tongue, he realized that it wasn't like the water. Since the day had started, everything that Keitaro had tried to eat or drink had tasted like ashes in his mouth. But this blood… his blood… he could actually taste it, and it wasn't bad. Keitaro didn't take it too well.

"What the hell!" was the first thing that came out of his mouth. "This cannot be freaking real. It has gotta be some kind of joke. Just some idiots messing with me."

_But how could that be true,_ Keitaro heard the voice whisper in his ears. _I tried to warn you, Boy, and you didn't listen._

"What do you want?" Keitaro said, looking around.

_You aren't too bright, are you? You're father and brother works as hunters and yet you still can't figure out what you are?_

"There's no way I could be a vampire," Keitaro said. As he spoke to the voice in his head, he wasn't even thinking that it was crazy. "My mother and father are both humans."

_Are you sure about that?_ the voice laughed, teasing him at this point.

It was at that moment that Keitaro even started doubting himself. The truth was that he had never known his mother because she died when he was born. He spent such little time around his father that he could go days without seeing him. Could it really be possible that they were both vampires, or even just one of them? Looking back at it now, Keitaro could see that he had been very closed minded about the surrounding world.

_I need to get home,_ he thought to himself, standing up and running in the direction of his house. _I have to know the truth._

Keitaro didn't make it far at all. His body seemed exhausted…. Hungry… like he hadn't had a meal in days. Plus the fangs that were now in his mouth ached ever so badly. He was starting to throw out the idea that he wasn't a vampire. But if that were true, then he knew well enough what his body needed. His mind didn't question of why but how. How could he ever possibly aquire it?

As if an answer to all his questions, his nose suddenly picked up the scent of something amazing. His body no longer seemed to have the ability to deny his needs. Even though his brain told him that he was crazy, he followed the smell. Even too this day, Keitaro wished he would have done what his mind told him to because he could never take back what happened after that.


	12. Embarrassment 12

Embarrassment 12: To Want and Need

* * *

There are moments when your mind is unable to accept something as reality. When that happens, it will automatically shut out the idea. Keitaro's mind, for example, was unable to handle the memory of what happened. His mind freaked out before he could ever finish the dream. When he awoke, he realized that he had been out for over eight hours and it was dark outside. He had passed out on the couch and it wasn't long before he realized that he was drenched in his own sweat and tears.

"Get out of my head," Keitaro muttered to himself. "It wasn't my fault. There was nothing I could do."

Keitaro found himself wanting to go home. He found himself wanting to leave these states and go back to Tokyo where he felt safe. Keitaro even found himself thinking about Kanon. He thought about the last time he had called her, how he had hung up on her without even saying goodbye. The thought crossed his mind to give her a call but it was morning in Japan right now and the young half-vampire would most likely be asleep.

_There's nothing left for me here, _he thought sadly as he thought about his failed mission. _That man is right. All I can do now is wait. Kanon is going to cry so hard when I tell her. Poor girl. But I have to tell her. It's time to go home._

Even though Keitaro's news would be anything but cheerful, the fact that he would be home soon would definitely be good for Kanon. He decided that he would surprise her by showing up and not tell her he was coming home. After all, he still had a couple of days to find a flight back. He figured that she could handle a couple more days without him if it meant that he would be able to surprise her.

It may have been for the better though if Keitaro had decided to give her a call. Even though it was almost nine in the morning in Japan and the morning sun was shining down, Kanon still hadn't gone to sleep. She happened to be thinking about Keitaro and wondering about him. For her, there hadn't been a single day that went by that she didn't think about him. Now that it was going on the third week since he had left she was starting to miss him. Not only that, Nariko had been pestering her about him ever since she found out that she had a boyfriend. Nariko only gave her trouble because Kanon was usually a klutz when it came to boys. It was still true too. Anytime Kanon was around a boy she always seemed to freeze up and get nervous. But Keitaro wasn't like other boys.

"Not only do you have a boyfriend who sound hot," Nariko teased her last night, "but he's an older boy as well. I'm impressed Kanon. Does this Keitaro have a job?"

"Um… Yeah he does," Kanon replied, going red in the face.

"Well don't leave me in the dark, Kanon," Nariko continued. "What does he do?"

"He works for a bank," she said immediately, thinking of the first thing that came to her mind.

"Wow. I bet he makes a lot of money. So when can I meet him?"

"I'll introduce you to him when he gets back," Kanon said, still going red in the face. She wasn't used to this kind of reaction.

That morning, as Kanon tried desperately to go to sleep before her work shift, she couldn't help but wonder what Keitaro was up to right now. She had tried to call him a couple of times but he had never answered the phone. She just hoped everything was alright. She still didn't fully understand why Keitaro was there. She knew that he was trying to find a cure to the half-vampire problem. But she still couldn't fully understand why she didn't seem to be affected.

_I'm a half-vampire,_ she thought, rolling over onto her side and staring blankly into space. _So why don't I seem to ever have the problems that Keitaro does? Is it because of what I am?_

It was a big mystery as to why Kanon didn't have any of the qualities of any half-vampire. She fed on blood way more than once a month. She never had a problem controlling her urges. She even had more vampiric powers than a normal half-vampire. The only explanation that she had for it was that she was the pushuke, so it was natural for her to be different than any other vampire.

Kanon hardly slept at all that day and before she knew it, it was noon and her alarm was going off to get ready for work. She was so tired the entire day that she hardly paid attention to anything that she was doing at work. Twice she managed to knock something over because she wasn't paying attention to where she had been going. Of course the manager was going to say something.

"Usui, are you doing okay?" Hina said coming up to her after catching her sitting on some boxes in the back sleeping.

"I'm sorry, Manager," Kanon said, jumping to her feet and bowing. "It won't happen again."

Manager Hina smiled. "Don't worry about it, Usui. I remember when I was your age. I take it you had a rough night last night?"

"I've just been thinking about some stuff," Kanon said, staring down at the ground. "I didn't get much sleep."

"Well, it doesn't look like there will be many people here today," the manager said thoughtfully. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off and go home to get some sleep."

"Oh…. No… I could never do that," she immediately replied shaking her head. "I couldn't leave you to work all by yourself."

Hina laughed. "Don't worry about it. Besides, you're always working extra hours to help me out around the bakery. The least I could do is let you off early once and a while."

It was true. Hina's bakery was a privately owned business run by just a few people. Kanon was always taking all the work she could get because she had to pay for all of her own expenses.

"Are you sure?" Kanon asked with uncertainty.

"Of course. I don't want you hurting yourself because you're tired."

Kanon was too tired to argue with her so she went into the back and changed out of her uniform before heading home. It was only five in the evening by the time that she made it to home, but since it was winter, the sun was already starting to set in on the horizon. This time when Kanon tried to go to sleep, she didn't have to wait long. In fact she had barely taken off her clothing and crawled into her bed before she was out like a light.

As she slept she had a dream about her and Keitaro sitting on the edge of a cliff that overlooked the entire city. Down bellow, there wasn't a single sound. Not even the whisper of the wind. It was as if Keitaro and Kanon were the only ones left in the entire world. Keitaro held her hands so delicately and he said something that she couldn't make out. But before she knew what was happening, Keitaro started to disappear. He literally went transparent right before her eyes before vanishing from sight. The next thing Kanon knew, she was all alone, with nothing to comfort her but the empty city below and the pain.

"Keitaro!" she screamed, sitting up in her bed.

Her heart was racing in her chest and it took her a few moments to realize it was all a dream. When she glanced down at the clock on her bedside table, she realized that she had been sleeping for almost three hours. Even though it was only a dream, it really seemed to bother her. It was one of her biggest fears that one day she will be all alone. For the most part, Kanon did feel very much alone in the world. She was part of two worlds and was completely different than either one. Being the Pushuke had always singled her out from everyone else. That was why she turned to Keitaro. But deep down, she always had the fear that her and Keitaro were never meant to be together. They both caused too much of a burden on each other to be happy so how could it ever work out? But at the same time, Kanon could never let Keitaro go because she doesn't want to be alone anymore.

Before Kanon could ponder much more on this matter, she heard the sound of the front door opening downstairs. Kanon quickly rolled out of her bed and changed into her clothes before heading downstairs to see who had come home. It brought some joy to her heart when she found out that it was her mother.

"Mama," Kanon said giving Karin a smile when she entered the family room. Everyone else was already in there, excluding Tohru, Ren, and Bridget. Bridget was still at home, Ren was stilled out in his coffin, and Tohru had disappeared off into the night already. "How did it go?"

"It was boring…. As usual," Carrera stated, pouring herself a glass of chilled liars blood. "What else do you expect?"

"I don't know," Henry said thoughtfully. "The fact that there have been so many births this year is good news to hear."

He gave a glance over to Kanon, expecting her to look away. The vampire birth rate obviously was due to Kanon giving her blood, but it was still a very touchy subject. The Maakas didn't talk about the ritual or anything that had to do with Kanon being the Pushuke. But Kanon just smiled.

"So I guess that means that the vampire race won't die out now?" she asked.

"Well," Henry said slowly, "it's not a sure thing yet. Our race is still very scarce….. But I'm sure that things will be fine now."

It actually made Kanon feel good that she made a difference. It was at least better than finding out that she had almost died for no reason what so ever. The way Kanon saw it, she was still breathing. So she didn't really mind thinking about the ritual at this point. As long as she wouldn't have to ever go through with it again in the future, that is.

"Anju," Carrera said, turning the attention to her daughter, "there are more vampires coming soon asking for you. Try not shooting them down so quickly this time."

Anju had been rather silent so far, sitting in her chair with Boogie in her lap. There was a noticeable shutter when she heard this and her eyes glared off into space with the intent to kill. But it was Boogie that decided to speak for her.

_"How many more vampires are you going to send towards her before you figure out that she doesn't want anything to do with them?"_ he wondered.

"You can't be single forever, Anju," Karin commented.

_"What about you, Karin?"_ Boogie continued. _"You're all alone now that Kenta is gone. Why don't you find someone?"_

"Well…. That is…. You see," she said, going as red as her eyes.

"Karin doesn't need to find somebody because she already has a descendant," Carrera said, pointing to Kanon.

"I won't do it, Mama," Anju said, barely letting her voice travel above a whisper.

That was all she said before walking out of the room. Nobody tried to stop her though but as soon as she was gone, Henry spoke up.

"I just don't know what I'm going to do with her," he said aloud, though it was obvious he was speaking to himself. "Of course I don't want to give my daughter away to some selfish vampire from another clan. But she can't expect to be alone her entire life during times like these. The vampires know just how important she is."

"Papa," Karin said softly. "Please don't make it so hard on Anju. I'm sure she'll find somebody soon. I'll talk to her…. Oh, I almost forgot. Kanon, there's also a vampire waiting for you in the park."

"uhhhhh…Me?" Kanon said, completely surprised. "Why would one want to see me?"

"His name's Takeshi. He said that he wanted to meet you face to face. He said that he was there when you…. Well you….. went through that thing," she paused. "He asked if he could come and meet you to thank you."

Kanon really didn't know what to say. She wasn't really expecting something like this. It was hard to say if she liked the idea or not.

"Are you sure it's okay?" Kanon asked.

"Don't worry about it," Carrera answered. "If he's any trouble or you want him to leave, just tell him too. Our deal states that while they are on our territory they have to do what we say."

"And I'll have my bats nearby just in case," Karin added. "What do you say, Kanon. I think it would be nice to meet him. He really seems like a nice person."

Kanon, being the nice girl that she was, couldn't refuse the request.


	13. Embarrassment 13

Embarrassment 13: First Impressions

* * *

Kanon may have agreed to her mother's wishes, but she wasn't so certain about meeting another vampire. The problem was that so far, every vampire that she had run into outside of her own clan had either tried to kidnap her or they saw her as nothing more than a source for fertility. It was only natural for Kanon to be suspicious of this vampire as well. However, she held her tongue and decided to go along with it. If this vampire tried anything all she had to do was ask him to leave.

Since no one was allowed to know where the Maaka house was, there was always set meeting places in the park for when suitors came for Anju. Kanon was actually told to stay away from that part of the park at night so that she wouldn't have to run into a random suitor. It was all safety precautions. But it was that spot where Takeshi would be meeting her tonight. Kanon got her shoes on and headed towards the door.

"I'll be going now!" she yelled before leaving the house.

As Kanon made her way to the park she noticed the bat flying high over her head. Karin watching over her actually put her a little at ease. If things got extremely bad, her family could come and pull her out of there.

_Why am I so nervous?_ she thought to herself as she crossed the street and went into the park. _I should be able to trust other vampires, shouldn't I? Why am I so afraid of meeting one of them face to face?_

It didn't take the young half-blood long to make it to the meeting spot. The place happened to be near the center of the park where very few humans would go during the night. There was a large pavilion in the center of the park with an extremely large fountain that was currently off for the night. And there he was. Takeshi was sitting at a picnic table underneath the pavilion, with a bottle of blood in front of him. As soon as Kanon saw him, her nerves got the better of her and she hid behind a tree before the vampire could see her.

_He looks so young,_ Kanon thought to herself, looking around the tree to the vampire. _Mama didn't tell me that he would be a younger vampire. I expected a much older person. He looks only a little older than me. But that's impossible right? C'mon Kanon, get ahold of yourself. I have to go up to him and talk to him._

It was easier said than done. Even though Kanon's brain was telling her to go up and say hello, her legs felt like they were glued to the spot. She was just way too nervous. So many thoughts were flying through her head. But looking at the vampire, she could tell that he was starting to get impatient. After a while, he looked down at the watch that he was wearing then around to see if anyone was there. The last thing she wanted was to make him angry if his intentions really were good.

Taking a deep breath, Kanon came around the tree and approached the young vampire with caution. The same way one would approach a stray dog. She found what little voice she could and spoke, getting his attention.

"H…Hello?" she stuttered, walking towards the pavilion. "Are you Takeshi?"

_What kind of question is that?_ Kanon thought stupidly. _Of course he's got to be Takeshi. He's the only other one out here._

The moment that the vampire heard Kanon's voice he got to his feet quickly and turned around to face her. The sudden action made Kanon jump slightly. But the moment she got to see his face, her cheeks went blood red. She couldn't believe it, but Takeshi was quite handsome for a vampire. Whether it was the smooth features of his face, or his blonde hair that came down to his shoulders, Kanon couldn't help but stare. There was no question that he was a vampire just by how well kept he was. Takeshi was wearing a white suit that looked to be worth as much as Kanon's old house. There didn't seem to be a single flaw in any of his features.

"I… uh…" Kanon started, trying to hide her face. It didn't matter because she was blushing furiously and she knew that he could see it.

"You must be Kanon Usui," Takeshi said, in a young, mid toned voice. "It is nice to finally get to meet you."

"It's…nice to…um…to…um….meet you."

Right now, nerves were getting the better of herself. She still couldn't shake off the fact that he was a vampire. But for some reason, just looking at Takeshi, she felt like she was in no real danger with him. So why was she so nervous?

_What should I say to him?_ she thought to herself. The entire time she kept her head to the ground. _I got to say something._

"My mother said that you were there at the elder house last year," Kanon said softly, still staring at the ground.

It didn't take long for Takeshi to realize that Kanon was scared. But he was patient with it and never rushed her.

"Yeah, I was," was all he could think to say. He saw that she was shaking slightly and it kind of put him back. He didn't expect somebody to be so afraid of him. "Is it alright if I call you Kanon?"

She nodded, still staring at the ground.

"Well Kanon, you don't have to be afraid," he said. "I've heard that you had some problems with vampires in the past. But I promise you that I'm not going to try anything. Would you like to sit down?"

He motioned her over to the table under the pavilion and was happy to see that she sat down. Kanon took a deep breath and glanced up at Takeshi from across the table.

"I'm sorry, Takeshi," she said softly. "I'm not usually that good around other people. I must be such a bother."

"I don't see you as a problem," he replied. He reached for the bottle of blood that was in front of him. "Would you like a glass?"

It was very common for one vampire to offer another vampire blood. But one look at the bottle and Kanon shot it down immediately. It didn't matter if she liked the taste or not, it was simply the fact that Kanon still wasn't fond of the idea of drinking blood. She only ever did it when she needed to.

"I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head. "I don't really like drinking blood."

"A vampire that doesn't drink like to drink blood? That must be a first."

"Well I'm only a half-vampire," she said in defence. "I just rather only drink it when I need to."

"I can understand that," he said, putting the bottle under the table, out of sight. "Is it true that you are the first Pushuke to drink blood?"

She nodded. "I don't really know to much about the Pushukes. Sir…."

"Please, just call me Takeshi," he said quickly. "Everyone does."

"Can I ask you a question? Why did you want to meet me tonight. You're the first person to care that I was the one who gave my blood."

Takeshi gave her a gentle smile. It wasn't just because he wanted to be friendly to her, but because she was starting to calm down slightly and actually talk. Even though she didn't realize it, he did. Internally she was getting less nervous around him.

"I guess it's because I wasn't raised like most vampires," he said, thoughtfully. "I was adopted by humans when I was very young because my entire clan was killed by hunters. I guess you could say I was raised with human values instead of vampire ones."

"Exactly how old are you?" she asked.

"A lot older than you, that's for sure. But I don't exactly know how old I am."

"You look really young," Kanon complimented smiling.

It was the first time that she had smiled for him. It made him smile as well.

"Thank you," he replied. "When I found out that you somehow survived the ritual back then, I decided that I wanted to meet you face to face. But I've got to say….. I didn't expect that the Pushuke would look so cute."

That was enough to get Kanon's face red again. "You don't really mean that….."

"Why would I lie?" the vampire asked.

_Is he flirting with me?_ Kanon wondered. _It sure seems like it._

"I'm glad that somebody cares," Kanon said, looking at the table. "Even though I don't talk about the Ceremony of Blood anymore, I think about it all the time. Sometimes I wonder if it was worth giving my life for the other vampires."

"But you didn't have to give your life," he commented. "You're still here, aren't you."

"I was just lucky. My boyfriend, Keitaro was the one who saved my life….."

She immediately stopped. For some reason, it didn't seem right talking about Keitaro in front of him. It was true that not many vampires, if any, liked Keitaro just for the fact that he was a vampire hunter. But Takeshi didn't seemed bothered in the slightest.

"I saw him there at the Ceremony when he carried you out," he said, thinking back. "I didn't realize that you were going out with him."

Going slightly red for a third time this night, all she could think of doing was nodding. "I owe so much to him."

"He is very lucky to have someone as beautiful as you," Takeshi replied.

It seemed slightly odd that Takeshi was calling Kanon beautiful after just meeting her but she didn't say anything. Now that she wasn't afraid of him hurting her, she found herself starting to like Takeshi more and more by the minute. She actually found it very cute that he was hitting on her because in all honesty, he was quite the looker.

And it didn't seem to change much as the night continued. In fact, she warmed up to him extremely fast and found out a lot about him in such a short time. He deffinetly wasn't like the other vampires that she had met. But like all good things, the night had to end eventually and Takeshi had to head home. But he managed to stay with her until almost three in the morning just chatting.

When the time came for him to leave, he got up from the table and gave her a kiss on the hand before bowing to her. Kanon had to fight to the teeth not to be blushing furriously.

"It truly was an honor to get to meet you, Kanon," he said, standing up. "You really are something special."

"Will I see you again?" Kanon said without realizing it.

He laughed softly. "You're grandmother said that I was only allowed to be on your territory for tonight. However….. If you want me to meet you again, I could try and arrange something with the Maaka's for another night."

"How about next week," Kanon replied quickly. "I could talk with grandma and grandpa for you. I'm sure they will allow it."

"Next week would be fine for me. Give the rest of the Maaka's my regards."

Kanon bowed before the vampire and watched as a cloud of bats came down around the vampire and surrounded him. After a few moments, they all took off and Takeshi was gone from sight. Kanon sat there for a while after her left with a smile on her face. She hadn't expected things to go so well tonight. In fact, the night turned out to be perfect. She couldn't wait to spend time with him again.

Kanon practically skipped the whole way home that night.

* * *

Sorry for taking so long to update the chapter. I had to spend some time thinking on how I would do the first confrontation and how Takeshi's charachter would be portrayed. Please review to tell me how I did.


	14. Embarrassment 14

Embarrassment 14: Loveless

* * *

Of all the Maaka clan, the one who had it the hardest besides Kanon, was little Anju. It wasn't her fault, but of all the vampires left in the world, she was considered the most desireable. And she really hated it. There were too few single female vampires left and since Anju was part of the Maaka clan it was a pretty good guess that she was able to have children. Not only that, she was the youngest female vampire by a long shot as well as one of the most powerful. So it was only natural that males would be all over her.

But Anju was sick and tired of all of them. She had no interest in finding a husband, nor did she ever think she would be. There wasn't a single vampire out there that she thought was worth her time. And it wasn't like she could find a human mate like her big sister did, not that she was interested in that either. The problem was that she still felt like a child, and as a child, she wasn't ready for children or love.

When Carrera came back with the news that even more vampires would be coming soon to ask for her hand in marriage, Anju decided that she had finally had enough. With hardly a word to any of her family she left the mansion and dissappeared ontop of a cloud of bats into the night with boogie in hand. The bats didn't take her far, but it was far enough away that she would be able to think in peace. They ended up taking her into the city before landing atop one of the stores. Down below, humans went on with their normal lives. None of them cared to look up and see the bats as they flew overhead.

_"Are you okay, Girly?"_ Boogie asked sensing her feelings.

Anju didn't respond. Instead she sat down on the edge of the building and stared out at the city below. There were so many people down below. Even though Anju could care less about any one of them, she always liked to watch them go about their lives. It helped Anju get things off her mind.

The truth was, that Anju wished that she wasn't born as a vampire. She had always been interested in human life ever since she was young. It was partially because she wanted to be in the world of light with her bigger sister. Back when Karin had her memory erased, there wasn't a day that went by that Anju wished that she could become human and live with her sister. Karin meant the whole world to her then and still did now. But when Karin became a vampire, Anju never lost that desire to be a human. She had spent a lot of time studying the humans by stalking them at night. She still wondered what it was like to be one of them. Even Boogie had no knowledge of this dream.

Now, more than ever, Anju wanted to leave the vampire world behind. Even though she put up a fight and tried to deny it, if she continued to deny the vampires hands in marriage for much longer, eventually she would be forced to marry one of them. It wouldn't be at all unusual for that to happen either. After all, Anju's mother had been forced to get married to Henry against her will. So it was absolutely possible for the same thing to happen to Anju, especially when the vampire race was still on the verge of extinction.

"Boogie," Anju said softly, as she starred at the vehicles going by in the street. "I have to find a mate soon."

_"Oh, now you're talking,"_ the doll teased her. _"What's wrong, Anju. Why are you letting your family get the better of you? They can't tell you who to marry."_

"If I don't find another person soon, they might force me to," she continued in the same serious tone.

_"I tell you what. Just do what your older brother did and sleep with somebody. Then when your pregnant, you'll know that he's the one. Hehehe."_

Boogie would have kept laughing, but Anju stiffled it quickly with a twist of the neck. He was lucky she didn't rip his head off and chuck it off the building. Boogie could litterally make a nasty joke out of anything, but this time Anju was being completely serious and she felt that he had taken it way too far.

_"Ow….. oww…okay Anju…..o..kay..I get the message,"_ Boogie coughed, gasping for breath. She let go of his neck and gave him a few seconds. _"You know I'm just teasing you, Anju. I'm trying to cheer you up. I can't stand seeing you in this state."_

"Everyone has somebody except me," Anju said. "Big sister and Big brother found somebody that they loved and even Kanon has the hunter. But I don't get to find somebody to love and nobody cares."

_"No offence, Anju,"_ Boogie replied, _"but the reason you don't have someone is because you refuse to look for one."_

"What are you implying," she said darkly, threatening to hurt him again.

_"You're dream boy isn't going to just fall out of the sky, Anju. Go find somebody."_

"I don't want anything to do with those old vampires," she continued.

_"Then go find a human like your sister did. If that dimwit Karin managed to find a partner, why can't you?"_

The idea wasn't the worst that she had ever heard of. Even though she didn't care for anybody, finding a partner couldn't be the hardest thing in the world to do. With that thought in mind, Anju got up from her spot and walked to the back side of the building where she summoned her bat familiars to pick her up and bring her home. She was surprised to see her big sister waiting for her on top of the mansion roof when she got back. When Karin saw Anju she gave her sister a gentle wave. Anju didn't return it, but smiled slightly.

"Anju, is it alright if I talk to you?" Karin asked her little sister.

Anju just shook her head and walked past Karin. "It's okay, Big sister. I know what I have to do now."

_"Yeah Karin,"_ Boogie said, laughing. _"You're a little too late for the conversation."_

Karin was completely confused as she watched her younger sister enter the house. "Too late? Wait a minute, Anju. What do you mean?"

Anju still didn't reply.

"Anjuuu."

* * *

So... Yeah. I know this is a short chapter and I kind of think of it as a bonus chapter for the day but I thought it would fit really well into the story as a bonus. That makes two chapters for today. See you tonight with yet another.


	15. Embarrassment 15

Embarrassment 15: Elda's Return

* * *

For almost the past year and a half, the only Maaka to stay out of the loop had been Elda Marker. Ever since she had let Keitaro's brother Yukio get the upper hand on her, she had decided to go back to sleep for yet another extended period of time. Nobody bothered to wake her up and tell her that the vampire war had ended so she stayed out of sight and out of mind. Even when the house was rebuilt, everyone was careful not to wake her. It wasn't uncommon to have Elda gone for such extended periods of time. She was so old that she spent most of her life sleeping in her coffin, only to come out every few years to feed.

From down within the Maaka mansion's basement, the lid of Elda's ancient coffin slowly cracked open, kicking up dust in the room. Elda sat up slowly and stretched out her muscles while looking in around the old room. Everything still looked just the same as always. None of the other family members ever came down to the basement so it was always extremely dusty. Elda didn't mind though and actually found the creepy old basement quite refreshing.

"It feels so nice to finally awaken," she said softly, climbing out of the coffin and continuing to stretch her muscles back into shape. Above her, she could hear voices as well as the sounds of footsteps. "I wonder what my dear family has been up to since I last saw them. I'll surprise them later. First things first, I'm extremely hungry."

Elda decided to sneak past the entire family as she put on some clothes and climbed the stairs out of the basement and went straight out the front door, umbrella in hand. Before she left though, she could hear Karin whining to Anju upstairs. She only caught a few words that were passed but it sounded like Anju had to deal with vampire suitors. The thought put a wicked smile on her face.

"So my dear grandchild, Anju is trying to find a husband?" Elda thought, as she closed the front door softly and literally started floating off into the sky. "I guess that means that the vampire hunters have finally left the city. What a pity that I didn't get to kill them before they left. Especially that one….."

A hint of anger crossed her mind as she thought about the vampire hunter who had managed to throw a tracking beacon on her. She still couldn't believe that she, one of the most powerful vampires left in the world, was tricked by some stupid human. She had half a mind to try and track down Yukio herself just so that she could settle the score with him as well as all the other vampire hunters. Obviously, she didn't know that Yukio had already met his fate and was no longer around to plague the world with his presence.

Unlike most vampires, Elda was not picky when it came to drinking blood. Young, old, male, female… it didn't make a difference. She also drank a lot of blood at one time, often biting more than one victim in a single night. It was because she drank so much blood that she managed to sleep for long periods of time as well as keep such a young figure.

It wasn't long before she picked up the scent of fresh blood from nearby the city park. Just outside, there was some sort of celebration going on and quite a few people were there. All she saw was a buffet with her name on it. She quietly floated down behind a nearby building and took a look around. Even though she was a powerful vampire, attacking large groups like this was suicide. Somebody was bound to see her. It didn't really matter though. She hated all humans and would erase every last one of their memories without a second thought. But instead she decided to wait and watch.

As the old woman walked amongst the crowd, she happened to draw a lot of attention towards herself. It didn't help that she was dressed like somebody from a different time period. Almost everyone thought that she was just some random young girl cosplaying out in public. A normal vampire would hide in the shadows in order to keep attention away from them. But Elda literally didn't care.

_That's right, you stupid little humans,_ she thought as she walked right through the middle of a group as if it were nothing. There was an evil grin on her face. _Come with dear grandma Elda._

As she thought this, her hand started to glow a dim white light. Just like that, five of the humans nearest her suddenly stopped what they were doing and started to follow her. She smiled at her work as she left the celebration and walked off into the park. The humans literally were right in step behind her. Elda didn't have to hunt for her food. She would have her food come to her. She had put all five of the humans into a trance. They had no clue what they were doing or who they were following. She was in control of them. As soon as she was far enough away from the eyes of the rest of the humans, she turned towards the humans with a smile on her face.

"Sleep," she said, raising both her hands.

From out of the nearby trees, five different bats flew towards the humans and knocked them unconscious. Elda admired her handiwork. It was time to feed. What she didn't realize that she was nearby where Kanon and Takeshi were right now. It didn't take long before she picked up the scent of the other Maaka, as well as another vampire. Curiosity got the better of her and after she finished wiping all of the humans, memories she decided to follow the scent. She stayed out of sight when she found Kanon and was quite surprised with the person she was with.

_What is my great granddaughter doing out in the middle of the park with this vampire?_ she thought to herself, as she leapt into a nearby tree so that she could get a better view. _And why is there such a puny vampire here anyways?_

With her vampire ears, she was able to listen into their entire conversation from a good distance. Out of interest, she stayed in the tree and watched Kanon and the new vampire for the rest of the night. She wasn't very fond of another vampire on their territory, but the way Kanon was acting around him kept her from doing anything. All she knew was that if this vampire tried anything with her sweet great granddaughter, she would personally rip his head off.

The two vampires sat around talking for almost the entire night. Finally, just when Elda was losing interest, the vampire finally got up from the table.

"It truly was an honor to get to meet you, Kanon," he said, standing up and giving her a slight bow. "You really are something special."

"Will I see you again?"

"You're grandmother said that I was only allowed to be on your territory for tonight. However….. If you want me to meet you again, I could try and arrange something with the Maaka's for another night."

"Don't even think about it, boy," Elda muttered under her breath.

Kanon however was quick to answer him. "How about next week? I could talk with Grandma and Grandpa for you. I'm sure they will allow it."

The vampire didn't even give it a second thought. "Next week would be fine for me. Give the rest of the Maaka's my regards."

Elda watched as a group of bats flew down and circled the vampire before he vanished from sight. A few moments after that, Kanon got up from the table herself and started to head home in quite the joyful mood. Elda finally decided to drop down from the tree and let herself be known.

"That's a cute little boy you got there, Kanon," she said in a sly tone.

Kanon almost jumped when she heard the voice. She wasn't expecting somebody to be there. But when she realized who it was, she was even more shocked. "Gre...great grandma?"

"The one and only," Elda joked. She ran up and hugged her granddaughter tightly. "How is my dear old Granddaughter?"

"I'm...fine, Grandma," Kanon said, trying and failing to get out of her deathgrip. "When did you wake up?"

"Just a bit ago. So who's the boyfriend?"

Kanon immediatly went bright red. "Takeshi. He's not my..."

"Oh, so the boy's names Takeshi," she said, completely ignoring Kanon's second sentance. "You two look like you really like each other."

"But... we aren't..."

Elda cut in again. "I didn't think you would be looking for somebody as well. I heard Anju was finding a husband, but I never thought my great granddaughter would also be looking for one."

If at all possible, Kanon went even redder in the face. "HUSBAND? B..but..grandma...he's not... we're not."

"Aw that's cute," Elda giggled, still ignoring her. "Don't worry, Kanon, I won't tell anybody."

It was no use. Elda sincerely thought that Kanon was going out with Takeshi. Kanon was so red in the face, it looked as if she would have a nosebleed any second.

"Grandma," she tried to reason. "Takeshi and I aren't like that."

"Eh?" Elda wondered, her smile faiding slightly.

"I hardly know him, Grandma. Besides, he's just wanted to meet me tonight to talk to me."

Elda laughed. "It looked like he wanted more than just that."

Kanon was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing, nothing," she said quickly. "Now lets get home and you can tell me everything that has happened since I've been asleep."

Elda let the thought drop for the moment, but deep down, she wanted to know more about this Takeshi charachter. It would be a while before she went back into her deep sleep again.


	16. Embarrassment 16

Embarrassment 16: Too Much Detail

* * *

"Grandma is awake?" was the very first thing that was said as soon as Elda and Kanon entered the house.

It just so happened to be Ren who ran into her as he was coming down the staircase from his room. It took less than two seconds before she jumped towards him and started hugging him.

"REN! Did you miss your dear old grandma!" Elda asked, squeezing the life out of him, as well as treating him like he was her pet cat, petting him on the head.

"Look at the time," Ren said, breaking free of her grip. "I need to get back home."

Kanon was laughing hard as her uncle ran past her and took off into the night, probably to hide out for a few days. She had never seen him lose his cool like that before, and Ren looked like a scared little rabbit for once in his life. He was lucky Elda didn't chase him out the door. Things didn't get any better when Ren's son came down the staircase to figure out what all the commotion was. Needless to say, nobody was surprised with how Elda would react to finally meeting Ren's son.

"What the hell is going on down here?" he said, stopping at the top of the staircase. He glanced down at Elda who, for the moment, had her back turned to him. "Aunt Karin, what is going on?"

Elda wheeled around when she heard a new voice and lit up like a firework.

"Uh," Tohru started, confused, "you are not my aunt."

"Run, Tohru," Kanon warned him, still laughing.

The teenager didn't have to be told twice. The way that Elda was slowly advancing up the staircase towards him with the look of hunger in her eyes told him that if he stuck around for one more second things wouldn't turn out so well for him. Before she could take another step towards him, he quickly jumped into a nearby room and slammed the door, locking it from the inside. Elda came up to the door and started pounding on it.

"You can't hide from Great Grandma forever, now can you?" she asked.

From inside the room, there was the sound of a window sliding open, then silence for a few moments, before the sound of it slamming shut. Tohru had just escaped being hugged to death… for the moment. The entire time, Kanon was still standing at the front door, giggling at the spectacle. She really enjoyed how the entire family acted around Elda. She loved every last one of her grandchildren and deffinetly let them know it, even if it was in an extreme way. It kind of reminded Kanon of how her grandma Usui used to act anytime she was around. Fumio always seemed to adore young Kanon.

All the noise that Elda was making seemed to get the attention of both Henry and Carrera. Carrera was the first to come into the room from out of the living room.

"Honestly, Mother," she said, in a careless tone, "is it really nessesary to scare every last member of our houshold?"

"At least I care about my grandchildren," Elda replied, stomping down the stairs. "Unlike some people I know."

Kanon yawned and looked down at her phone at the time. It was almost four in the morning, meaning that the sun would be coming up in a couple of hours. She really shouldn't be up so late, seeing that she would be up again at noon.

"I'm going to bed now," Kanon said softly, putting her phone away and stretching.

"Eh, You're going to go to bed already?" Elda wondered. "But it's still dark outside."

"I'm sorry, Great Grandma," Kanon said, starting up the stairs. "But I gotta work today, so I need to sleep."

Elda deffinetly wasn't happy. "Don't tell me you work with humans just like your mother did." She quickly turned to Carrera. "I will not lose another grandchild."

"What are you blabbering on about, you old coot?" Carrera wondered. "It's not like we're going to make the same mistake twice and erase her memories as well. You have a good night, Kanon."

"Night, Grandma," Kanon said, before disappearing at the top of the stairs.

Elda extremely hated the idea of Kanon spending to much time with humans. After all, that was the first steps towards Karin getting her memory erased when she was old enough to take care of herself. It would be the end of the world before Elda would allow the same thing to happen to Kanon.

As soon as everything was calm again in the house, Elda joined both Henry and Carrera in the family room. But they knew that something was on her mind because the entire time she was in the room, she was pacing back and forth.

"Momma, are you planning to go back to sleep anytime soon?" Henry asked trying to break the silence.

Of course Carrera had to throw in her two cents. "Yes, we wouldn't want to stand in the way of you getting your beauty sleep."

Elda shot a look of venom at her. "How could you expect me to go back to sleep now? What? Are you trying to get rid of me already?"

"Of course not, dearest mother," Carrera replied. There was obvious sarcasm in her voice.

"Besides, there is so many interesting things going on around here," she said, staring up at the ceiling. "No, I think I'm going to stay up for a while. But I would like to know why there was another vampire on our territory tonight. Who the hell is this Takeshi?"

"Oh…" Henry said softly. "You saw him?"

"What do you mean, Oh? Of course I saw him. Are you telling me you are okay with Kanon falling in love with this pathetic excuss for a vampire?"

There was a couple of moments of silence as Carrera and Henry tried to piece together exactly what she was trying to say.

"Wait," Carrera said, a smile forming on her face. "You think that Kanon… and him…. Ahahaha!"

"What are you laughing at?" Elda said, glaring at her.

"Momma," Henry said, fighting back the urge to laugh himself. "I don't think Kanon has any interest in this Takeshi boy….."

"Did you see them tonight?" she asked.

Henry thought about it. "Well… no. But Kanon already has somebody."

Just a moment or two too late, he realized that he just might have said too much. Elda's face immediately twisted into an evil grin. "So, my Great Granddaughter is already with another vampire? Why didn't you say so before?"

"Well… that is… um."

It was no use. Henry had told Elda a bit too much. The problem was that they could not let her know about Keitaro. If Elda found out that her granddaughter was not only dating a half-vampire, but a vampire hunter, there was no telling what she would do. Elda was around back when the vampire hunters ran her and James out of Europe hundreds of years ago. She hated them all with a passion and didn't understand nor care that vampire hunters no longer randomly killed vampires. The only reason that Henry and Carrera were determined to keep Keitaro's secret was that he was helping protect their family and because he was with Kanon.

But from the look that Henry was giving, it didn't take long for Elda to realize that there was something that he wasn't telling her. She immediately started to get suspicious.

"Well, will you look at the time," Elda said, glancing over to the huge clock on the wall. "It's about time to go back to sleep. I'm extremely tired, so let's talk more in the morning."

She had immediately changed the subject and walked out of the room, leaving Henry and Carrera alone. But there was an all too familiar wicked smile as she went down the stairs and climbed into her coffin for the day.

"Nice job, Henry," Carrera said, hitting her husband on the head with a slipper. "You had to open your big mouth."

"I couldn't help it," Henry whined. "No matter. We have to tell Kanon before Mother decides to starts sniffing around."

"But isn't that vampire hunter over in America still?" she wondered. "Our granddaughter should be in the clear for now."

Upstairs, Kanon had finally changed over into her sleepwear and was lying in her bed with her cellphone in hand. She was staring hard at it hoping that something would happen, though nothing did.

_Keitaro didn't call me again tonight,_ she thought sadly, just hoping her cellphone would start ringing. _I really hope that he is okay right now. I really want to see him again._

What she didn't know was that Keitaro was making arrangements to come back to Japan right then. He happened to be thinking about Kanon as well and hoping the best for her. He had been keeping her in the dark for almost an entire month now and hoped that she didn't hold a grudge against him. But he had been so busy that he just never found time to call her. Even though her had bought his plane ticket home, he was still searching night and day for another half-vampire. His search always turned up the same exact thing.

A few days later, Keitaro was sitting on a plane, watching the ocean below, just trying to figure out where he went wrong. His was nearing the end of his time and he could feel the darkness creeping up behind him each day. It was at this point that he had finally given up all hope of finding a cure. Now he was just going to spend his last bit of time with Kanon. His father would understand if he decided not to come back home.

"I just hope Kanon will be able to forgive me," he said softly.

* * *

I personally loved this chapter even though I expected it to be much longer. However, you'll be glad to know that next chapter Kanon and Keitaro will finally be back together. What do you think will happen and how do you think Kanon will respond when Keitaro brings her the bad news? Well see you all tomorrow.


	17. Embarrassment 17

Embarrassment 17: A "Minor" Problem

* * *

Even with Elda being awake, the next few nights were actually pretty tame for Kanon. It was obvious that Elda didn't like her spending so much time around humans but thankfully she decided to stay out of her way. The last thing she wanted was her great grandma appearing in front of her friend Nariko while they were out on the town.

"Why do you hang out with those filthy humans anyways?" Elda asked her the first time she came back from Nariko's house.

Kanon felt a little hurt by that comment. "I don't think humans are filthy, Grandma. Besides I'm only a half-vampire so it's okay."

"Oh right," she replied in a dark tone.

It seemed that any time anybody brought up the fact that Kanon was a half-vampire, Elda would immediately change the subject. Kanon was already used to people not being fond of half-bloods, but her great grandma really seemed to despise them for some reason though she never told Kanon why. It was as if she denied that her granddaughter was a half-blood. It really bothered Kanon because she still didn't see anything wrong with what she was.

The biggest change since Elda had woken up was that Ren and Tohru had suddenly decided to go back home out of nowhere and left the Maaka mansion quite suddenly. Everybody knew why, including Elda. But in her mind, it just allowed her to spend more time with Kanon. After all, she was never very fond of Anju, due to the fact that Anju looked so much like Carrera's mother. Karin was also getting a lot of attention from her grandmother, but nowhere near as much as Kanon.

As soon as nightfall hit and Kanon was with the entire family, excluding Anju who had vanished into the night to meet yet another vampire suitor, the biggest question on Elda's mind was what happened while she was asleep. It took almost the entire night to break the story out to her and it was actually sort of amusing for Kanon to listen to somebody else tell the story for once. Needless to say, Elda was quite pissed off at the other vampire clans for treating one of her family with so little respect. But the one thing that Kanon noticed about Henry's story was that he never said a word about Keitaro or his part in this. In fact, he managed to change bits and pieces of the story to exclude Keitaro. Kanon couldn't understand why he would do that.

"What I would like to know," Elda wondered after Henry was finished, "is how my granddaughter managed to survive if she gave her blood for the other clans. Isn't the ceremony of blood supposed to kill the Pushuke?"

Elda looked over to Kanon when she said this, hoping that Kanon would be able to answer. The problem was that Kanon knew exactly why she was able to escape death back then. It was all thanks to Keitaro. In fact, the whole family knew that Keitaro was the only person to thank for that. But Kanon wondered if she should say anything about him. So far, her Grandma and Grandpa had done a good job writing him out of the story.

"I…" Kanon stuttered, thinking of an answer. "I don't know how I survived. All I remember was giving my blood then everything going dark. The next thing I knew, I was awake inside my bed here."

"Anju was the one who found her near the elder house and brought her home," Henry replied quickly. He laughed softly, scratching his head. "I guess you can call it a miracle."

After a few moments, Elda seemed to buy the entire story without question. The part that Kanon had said wasn't actually a lie anyways. Kanon really couldn't remember ever biting Keitaro on the arm. It was Keitaro who had to tell her the truth when she had awoken inside her bed a week later. But she still couldn't help but feel slightly awkward for excluding him out of the story herself. It just felt like the wrong thing to do.

"I guess I'm happy that Kanon didn't die," Elda said, walking out of the room. "But I still can't believe you are letting other vampires see her after what they did."

As soon as Elda was out of earshot, both Henry and Carrera breathed a deep breath of relief. Karin didn't stay in the room and went into the kitchen to make Kanon some dinner. Kanon however turned to her grandparents with one major question on her mind.

"Grandma, Grandpa," she said, averting her eyes, "why didn't you tell Great Grandma about Keitaro?"

Henry and Carrera glanced at each other. It was Henry who responded. "Kanon, we wanted to talk to you about that. As much as we trust Keitaro, we just can't let Mother know too much about him."

"What?"

"Your great grandmother has an extreme hatred for all vampire hunters that extends beyond most vampires. After all, it was vampire hunters that killed off a lot of our numbers hundreds of years ago."

"But Keitaro isn't like that," Kanon started.

"We know that, but we think it might be in your best interest to stay away from Keitaro for awhile," Henry continued. "At least until your great grandma decides to go back to sleep."

"But… I can't do that," Kanon replied. "Keitaro is my boyfriend. I can't just ignore him."

"Isn't he still over in America anyways?" Carrera commented. "You've been apart from him for almost a month now. What's a week or two longer going to matter?"

"That's…." Kanon stuttered. "That's beside the point. When he gets back, I'm going to want to be with him. I really miss him."

Both Henry and Carrera thought about it. Kanon had been away from Keitaro for too long now without so much as hearing from him. It was only natural that she was going to spend time with him when he got back, whenever that may be. And Elda already knew that Kanon was going out with Keitaro thanks to Henry's little slip up the night before.

"What if I tell Keitaro about Great Grandma?" Kanon thought quickly. "If she doesn't know that he's a hunter, she won't have a problem then, will she?"

"Well…" Carrera said slowly. What she said next made matters even worse. "Mother already knows that you are going out with him. But she thinks that he's a full blooded vampire. She has no clue that he's a half-vampire like you."

"So?" Kanon wondered. It didn't take her long to realize what her grandma was getting at. The thought just made her angry. "Don't tell me Great Grandma doesn't like half-vampires either."

Neither Carrera nor Henry needed to answer that one. The fact was that Keitaro was basically a mix of everything that Elda despised. Kanon wasn't at all happy. She starred at the floor in silence.

"Kanon," Henry said, cheering her up, "we aren't going to tell you to stop seeing Keitaro if you don't want to. Just try and make sure Elda doesn't get too close to him and everything should be fine. Before long, Mother will get bored and go back to sleep like she always does. Can you at least do that?"

Kanon nodded and got off the couch to go help her mother in the kitchen. It was obvious that she wasn't too happy about the situation but there was nothing that she could say or do. If she wanted to be around Keitaro she was going to have to do what she was told and try to stay clear of her great grandma.

"I wonder why Mother didn't say anything about him tonight," Henry said, pouring himself a glass of blood. "It would seem that she has already forgotten about him."

Carrera just rolled her eyes. "Do you really think that she would give in that easily? Stupid. She knows that we aren't going to say anything about him."

"That means she'll go straight for…." Henry thought. "But what if she finds out the truth?"

"I think Kanon's little boyfriend is more than capable of keeping one little secret," she said.

Carrera was right about one thing. Elda had not forgotten about Keitaro and was going to find out more about him one way or another. Without Kanon knowing, the next few days she had a bat following the young half-vampire around. Kanon had quite the routine every single day. It actually made Elda quite bored. The thing that she did notice was even when Kanon was around her human friend, she hardly ever spoke of this Keitaro person. But Elda never saw this mystery boy and she never knew why.

Finally, after three days of spying on her granddaughter she decided to confront her. Kanon was heading home in her normal cheerful mood when Elda appeared just outside the Maaka barrier. Kanon gave her great grandma a friendly smile.

"How is my favorite granddaughter tonight?" Elda asked, trying to not sound too suspicious. "Do you mind having a walk with me before we go inside?"

Kanon couldn't refuse her grandmother's request and they walked into the Maaka barrier together. However, instead of going into the Maaka mansion they went off to the side of the hill, to a large rock that jutted out of the ground. Kanon liked going to this place when she wanted to be alone because it overlooked a lot of the city.

"What is it that you wanted to talk about, Grandma?" Kanon asked.

Elda gave her a slight smile. "I was just wondering if things were going well with you and that vampire boy. As your grandmother, it's natural for me to be curious. I heard that you already have a boyfriend."

"Yeah… I do," Kanon said, going slightly red in the face. For some reason talking about it in front of her grandma seemed embarrassing. "His name is Keitaro."

"Keitaro…" Elda thought about it. "How do you know this boy?"

Kanon had to think hard on answer for this one. "I met him at the elder house a year ago. He was the one who carried me out of the house after I gave my blood… Or so he says."

_Nice save, _Kanon thought to herself.

"And do you like this boy?" Elda continued trying to weasel more info out of her granddaughter.

"Of course I do," she replied quickly. "Keitaro means the world to me."

Elda gave a chuckle. "I can tell. You remind me of when I was younger. But for a girl who loves him so much, you don't see him much."

Kanon eyed Elda suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

"… You know what I mean."

"Grandma, have you been spying on me?" Kanon asked softly.

"Only cause it's my job," Elda said, beaming.

"Grandma!"

Kanon couldn't believe that Elda would do something like that to her. She was deliberately trying to find out more about this Keitaro person and was using her granddaughter as bait.

"Stop complaining," Elda snapped. "You lead a very boring life anyways. How can you stand being around those humans so much?"

"I already told you Grandma, those humans are my friends. I'm only half-vampire. Why can't you accept that?"

"Because you live in a family of vampires, and because I don't want to have to lose you like I did Karin."

Kanon stopped. It never occurred to her how hard it was for Elda to lose Karin to the human world. Elda had never liked humans, and probably never would. Yet she had to sit idly by and watch as her favorite grandchild had her memories erased and was given to a human. The whole reason was because Karin spent so much time in the human world when she was younger. But Kanon made a vow that she would never let the human side of her get in the way of her family. She wasn't like her mother.

"Grandma, you aren't going to lose me," Kanon said thoughtfully. "I promise you. But you have to let me be with my human friends in peace."

"Fine," Elda said, giving her a smile. "As long as you don't plan to go off and marry a human, I'll let it pass. But I want to meet this Keitaro boy."

"You want to… what?" she asked, her jaw dropping.

"Of course," Elda said. "If this vampire thinks he's good enough to be with my granddaughter, he should be able to see me face to face."

Kanon gulped. "Um… sure. As long as you promise to stop spying on me I'll talk to Keitaro when I see him."

Deep down, Kanon was thinking that this might just turn out badly. But how could she say no to her grandmother. Elda still thought, and was hoping, that Keitaro was a vampire from another clan. What would happen if she found out that he wasn't? Behind Kanon's smile, she was shaking.

* * *

First of all, I know I lied. Keitaro still isn't back in the picture, but I really wanted to add this chapter first. Adding Elda back into the story has turned out to be quite a story driver. As you can tell, I'm really setting this up for something big to happen. Anyways, I'm planning to keep the chapters well over 2,000 words long from now on. I can't promise any bigger than that unless you would like longer waits between each chapter. I really like posting one a day so that you don't have to wait for a long time.


	18. Embarrassment 18

Embarrassment 18: Baka!

* * *

The moment that the Maaka family found out that Kanon had agreed to bring Keitaro before Elda, everything fell apart. The moment that Elda left the house to feed, Kanon was awoken and brought down to the family room where everyone already was waiting. Even Karin was totally against this idea. Kanon wasn't happy to be awoken so late in the night but she didn't say anything.

"Kanon how could you think about bring that hunter to your grandmother?" Henry asked the moment she sat down.

"I'm sorry," Kanon said, staring at her lap. "I was nervous and didn't know what to say."

_"How about saying, No, you stupid dimwit,"_ Boogie commented from Anju's lap.

"Don't speak here, Boogie," Anju muttered down to her doll.

"Anju's creepy doll is right," Henry said, pacing back and forth in the room. "If Mother gets too close to that boy she's bound to find out the truth about him."

"Is it really so bad if she finds out?" Kanon wondered. "Grandpa, you didn't trust him either when you first met him. Keitaro is a nice guy and I'm with him. Wouldn't that be enough for Great Grandma?"

The entire room looked to Karin this time. Kanon had never been told about how much Elda had hated her father. Karin just managed not to tell her.

"When Kenta and I were about your age," Karin started, "Grandma tried to break us apart many times. She didn't care how I felt about it, no matter how many times I tried reasoning with her. She did what she thought was best for me."

"I still say we kill the old hag," Carrera commented. "Then we won't have to worry about her."

"I agree," Anju said, starring off into space.

Henry just shook his head. "That's my mother you're talking about."

"Oh come on, Henry, it would be easy," Carrera continued with an evil glint in her eye. "And would you honestly miss her when she's gone?"

"Carrera!" Henry practically cried. He didn't want to hear anymore.

"Little Niece," Anju wondered, turning to Kanon, "how long will it be before he gets home?"

Kanon was quiet for a moment. "Well… I… uh… I really don't know?"

"Haven't you been talking to him?" Anju said still persisting.

"Well... No," Kanon said, staring at her lap. "He hasn't called me in forever."

_"I bet the boy died,"_ Boogie teased.

"Don't say that!" Kanon said.

_"Hehehehe."_

Kanon didn't even want to think that something like that would happen. She was really starting to get worried about him. Since Keitaro had an extremely dangerous job, there was no telling what was happening to him. Kanon had no idea if he was okay, hurt, or even dead. The thought made tears come to her eyes. She quickly wiped them away but Karin, who happened to be sitting right next to her, saw it.

"I'm sure he's okay," she said, trying to comfort her daughter.

"When he gets back, you have to make sure grandma doesn't spend too much time around him," Anju said. "I'll watch over her and make sure she doesn't start spying on you."

Kanon nodded. Then she asked the one question she had been thinking of. It really hit home for everyone in the room.

"Why are you all so worried about Keitaro?" she asked. Hush fell over the crowd. "I thought you guys didn't like him."

"What… what makes you say that?" Karin wondered.

"I've heard you talking about Keitaro when I'm not around," she said softly. "You don't like him because he's a vampire hunter and because he knows too much about our family."

The entire family was stunned that she knew this. The truth was the night before Kanon's birthday both she and Keitaro happened to hear the family talking about them being together. Even though the family thought that they had left, they actually heard everything. Kanon had known for a while now that the family didn't really like the idea of her being with Keitaro. The only reason they tolerated it was because they were actually afraid to start a fight with Cross Organization again.

"Kanon….I…" Karin started.

"I don't want you all to think of Keitaro as a problem, and he doesn't want that either," Kanon said. Her eyes drifted to her lap because she couldn't stand to look her family in the face. "Would you have liked it better if I was with a normal vampire?"

_"She's got you all pegged,"_ Boogie muttered, but Anju was quick to stifle it.

What could anybody say that wasn't a blatant lie to her? She already knew the truth. With the vampire race hanging by a thread and Anju still denying suitors left and right Kanon was the next alternative. She was after all the Pushuke. The only reason she didn't have male vampires all over her like Anju did was because the Maakas forbid contact with her. Plus Keitaro wasn't exactly any easy choice for a person to date. He had so many problems on his own let alone the problems that it caused the family. Naturally, it would be better and easier if Kanon were to be with a normal vampire.

Nobody had the strength to step up to her and tell her a lie, so nobody said a thing about it. But Henry did tell her the truth about something.

"Kanon, the reason we want to help is because it is our job to protect our family," Henry said. "If Keitaro were to be harmed in any way by Mother, it would hurt you. That's why we are worried about your great grandmother finding out."

A few tears came to Kanon's eyes, but this time, she did nothing to get rid of them. "Thank you, Grandpa."

With that, she got up from the couch and went up to her room to go back to sleep. When she was gone, the family didn't know what to say. But of course Boogie could be counted on to say something.

_"Well, nice job,"_ he said, giggling. _"I bet none of you saw that coming."_

"Shut up!" everyone said at the same time.

For the first time ever, Boogie actually listened to them. But Anju could still feel him shaking as he laughed to himself.

"Little Niece knew that we didn't like that hunter and never said anything," Anju muttered to herself. "But he hasn't been in contact with her for almost a month. Why does she still care about him?"

Karin thought about it. "I think it's because she knows that Keitaro will always be true to her. It's the same way that I felt when Kenta and I were separated. Kanon probably misses him more than she lets everyone know."

"All this love talk is really too depressing," Carrera said getting up and leaving the room.

When Kanon's alarm clock went off at around noon, she shrugged off the entire night as if it were just a bad dream. She didn't really want to think about what happened the night before for obvious reasons. Instead she left the house and went to work with a smile on her face.

A few miles away at the Tokyo airport, a plane landed and docked at its terminal. After being away for just short of a month, Keitaro finally stepped off the plane and back onto Japanese soil. It had been quite some time since he had seen Kanon, so there was only one thing on his mind. But first, he had a few errands he needed to run. Besides, he knew that Kanon would be at work right now, so he had a bit of time to kill.

For Kanon the day was like any other. She had no clue that Keitaro was finally back, but by how cheerful she was many people would have thought differently. It was just that she had that feeling that today was going to be a good day. Even better was the fact that around eight at night, Nariko showed up at the bakery with some tickets to the fair. She said that her mother was going to let her stay out late tonight so that she could go with Kanon.

"I won these tickets at a contest at school today," Nariko said, extremely excited. "So I was wondering; if you weren't doing anything, would you like to go to the fair tonight."

"Of course I'd love to go," Kanon said smiling.

Kanon may have been to the fair many times at night, but this happened to be Nariko's first time. All that needed to be said was that both of them had an extremely fun time. It seemed like such a good thing that Kanon was having a good time after such a rough night last night. It helped her forget about it quickly. Since the fairgrounds were open almost all night, they stayed until past eleven. The only reason they left was because Nariko was starting to get tired. Kanon walked her all the way back home, talking and laughing the whole way.

"I still don't get it, Kanon," Nariko said as soon as they neared her house. They took a seat just outside. "It's so late and yet you don't look tired at all."

"I enjoy the night," Kanon said, smiling. She stared up at the sky extremely quiet. It was a cold night and a strong gust was blowing through the air, but Kanon was so deep in thought, she didn't mind it. "Nariko… thanks for coming out tonight."

"Don't mention it," Nariko beamed. "I had a good time."

"I just wished Keitaro could have been here to come along," Kanon added.

"Well," a voice said from nearby, "if you would have waited just a little bit longer, maybe I could have."

"Yeah, I guess so," Kanon said. It was right about that time that her eyes opened wide. "Wait a minute."

It took her all of two seconds to realize just who had replied to her. It quickly pulled her back to reality and she looked across the street to see none other than Keitaro standing there, dressed in normal civilian clothing and a box under his arm. Nariko gave the boy a suspicious glance but the look on Kanon's face was priceless. She immediately jumped to her feet, looking as if she had just found an entire house of gold.

"Keitaro!" she exclaimed, running over and jumping into his arms. She knocked the box out of his hands and it fell hard on the ground. "Oh my god, it's actually you!"

"So… I take it you missed me?" Keitaro joked, giving her a smile.

She didn't even have to respond. Tears were streaming from her eyes as she held onto Keitaro for dear life. In her life, she had never been as happy as she was right now. Keitaro wasn't feeling too bad himself.

"Keitaro?" Nariko wondered, standing up and walking over. "So this is the mysterious boy."

"And who is this?" Keitaro wondered.

"Oh…. I'm so sorry," Kanon said, wiping away her tears and taking a step back. "Keitaro, this is my friend, Nariko. Nariko, this is the guy I told you about."

Seeing Kanon with another friend was something new to Keitaro, seeing as the last time he had seen her, she was all alone. It made him glad to know that she wasn't too lonely without him. But he gave Nariko a smile all the same.

"It's nice to meet you," he said, shaking her hand.

Nariko blushed and had to avert her gaze from Keitaro, hoping he wouldn't see. "Kanon, I can't believe you didn't tell me how gorgeous he is."

This time, it was Kanon's turn to go red. "Na-Nariko! That's so embarrassing."

Nariko, knowing that Kanon may want some time alone with Keitaro, looked down at her watch. She gave a yawn. "Well, I'm going off to bed. Kanon… Keitaro… I'll see you later."

"Goodnight," they both said in unison.

Nariko was quick to leave the two of them alone. She knew that they probably had a lot to talk about and gave them the courtesy of peace. But as soon as she saw Kanon again, she would be all over her about Keitaro.

"So, you're aunt returned her memory?" Keitaro said, looking towards her house. Kanon actually didn't respond to him. Instead, she came up to the side of him and punched him in the side. It wasn't hard but enough for him to wonder what he did wrong. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Idiot," Kanon said, hitting him again. "Why haven't you called me? I was really worried about you."

"I'm sorry, Kanon," he replied, rubbing his ribs where she hit him. "I've just been extremely busy."

She hit him again. "I've been so afraid that you were hurt. There hasn't been a night that I haven't thought about you."

Again all he could say was sorry. Kanon was about to hit him again but this time he grabbed her hand, completely throwing her off guard. Without another word he pulled her in close and brought his face close to hers, kissing her. She was extremely surprised at first, but after less than a second she gave in and returned the kiss.

"I missed you so much," he said softly, just loud enough for her to hear and nobody else. "I'm sorry, Kanon."

Kanon practically melted in his arms. For a second time in less than five minutes she started crying again. She rested her head on his shoulder and he held her tightly, just like last time. It had been close to a month since she had been able to feel the warm embrace of Keitaro, and she missed it ever so much. She could hear his heart beating steadily in his chest, the warmth of his body as he held her close to him. It was things like this that she never wanted to let go of.

"I love you, Keitaro," Kanon whispered.

* * *

As it stands so far Last Hope just might end up as long as the first story, if not longer. So I want to know, in comparison how does Last Hope stand next to New Blood. So far has the story been better, worse, or about the same? I guess what I'm asking is this story keeping you hooked? LOL This will tell me what I need to do to the story so please review. Like always, I'll see you again tomorrow with the next chapter.


	19. Embarrassment 19

Embarrassment 19: Increasing Blood

* * *

Kanon was extremely quick to forgive Keitaro for not keeping in touch with her when he held her close to him. She was never that mad anyways. Right at this moment, she wanted time to freeze permanently so that she would never have to leave. She didn't know why, but when she was near him, she felt a sense of security that she didn't get around anybody else. Deep down, she knew that she would do anything for him. It was kind of ironic, a vampire in love with a vampire hunter. Just over a year ago the only thing that had been on his mind was hunting her entire family down. Now here she was, hoping that he would never leave her side.

Keitaro was just glad to see she was happy being around him again. But he was also happy to be near her right now. The past few weeks hadn't exactly turned out the best for him, and he was glad to come back home to where she was. She looked just as beautiful as she did three weeks ago when he left, if not more so. But as he stared down at her, rubbing the small of her back with one of his hands, he started hating himself.

_What am I going to do?_ Keitaro wondered sadly. He gave a slight smile when he realized that Kanon had started swaying back and forth gently in his arms. Her eyes were closed and her head rested on his chest as she hummed a gentle tune to herself. _When she finds out the truth, she's going to be so upset. How can I tell her such bad news at a time like this?_

_It's easy,_ a voice whispered in his ear. It was the same voice that had tortured him before. _Just tell her that you have finally given in to your urges._

Keitaro shook his head. _I would rather die than go feral._

_That's fine. Because you know that things will end that way anyways._

Kanon may not be able to read Keitaro's mind or hear the voice that was speaking to him, but it wasn't long before she started to notice something was wrong. As she was swaying with him, she suddenly started to get an all too familiar feeling from within her. Out of nowhere, her heart started beating harder and faster and she could feel her blood increasing by the minute. At first, she ignored it, but it was increasing at such a rapid speed it started to hurt her. Unintentionally, she winced at the pain and tightened her grip around Keitaro's waist. Needless to say, the action startled Keitaro.

"Kanon?" he asked softly, looking down at her pained face. She had stopped swaying and was starting to shake slightly. When she didn't say anything he spoke louder. "Kanon, are you okay?"

Kanon let go of Keitaro and took a couple steps back, bringing her face up to her hands. At first, Keitaro thought she was covering her mouth, as if preventing herself from puking. But then he realized that she was actually covering her nose. Her blood was increasing extremely fast and she didn't understand why.

_Keitaro hasn't caused my blood to multiply this badly since before the Ceremony,_ Kanon thought to herself, as she tried to steady her breathing. Her body was feeling extremely hot and she was afraid she might burst at any moment. _Why is he suddenly making me feel this way?_

Keitaro was just as stunned as she was. Just a few minutes ago, she was perfectly fine. Even he had never seen her blood increase so suddenly. At least not from his blood. He wanted to get closer to her but he knew that might be dangerous.

"Kanon," he said again. He tried to remain calm. "Kanon, can you hear me? We need to find you a person to inject."

"I'll…be…fine," she said, breathing hard.

She was trying to reassure herself but it was a blatant lie and he knew it. From the state she was in, she could have a nosebleed at any time. He looked up around for a moment. They were still near Nariko's house and nobody else was nearby. The street was dead as of the moment. But if somebody were to pass by, they would surely see Kanon. It might likely cause a scene. That was something he did not want to have happen. Just then he got an idea.

"Bite me," he said softly. He looked at her with a soft smile. "Kanon, bite me. Inject me."

Kanon couldn't believe that he was offering himself to her. It seemed like the logical thing to do, but Kanon couldn't do it. Even though, Keitaro was giving off such a strong scent, and her fangs were nearly double their normal size, biting her boyfriend just seemed too embarrassing.

"I can't do that," Kanon said, taking a step back as she continued to steady her breathing.

"It'll be fine, really," he said. He unzipped the jacket that he was wearing just enough to expose his neck. "I'm not going to let you have a nose bleed on me. Go ahead and inject me. Get it out of your system."

Kanon just shook her head, still refusing the temptation. After she last bit Keitaro, she made a personal vow that she would never feed on his blood. She just couldn't do something like that to the person she loved. So no matter how much his blood irritated her senses, she would refuse.

"I… think I'll be okay," she said, moving over to the curb and sitting down. "I just need to let my body calm down."

Keitaro didn't come any closer to her for almost five whole minutes. He waited patiently for her blood to stop increasing. Luckily, it seemed to stop just before she completely lost control of it. Her heart was still beating slightly fast and her body ached from the blood pushing on her veins, but she was starting to feel better. Even her breathing decreased. It still didn't make for a good night.

_I just don't get it,_ Keitaro thought to himself. He stared at Kanon apologetically, thinking of a way to say he was sorry. _Do I really have that much anger in me that I am causing her blood to react so drastically? She seemed fine just a bit ago. In fact, she didn't start increasing blood until the voice started talking to me. What is happening?_

"Keitaro," Kanon said suddenly, breaking his train of thought.

"Uh… yeah?" he asked, looking up to her.

"Is there something wrong that you wanted to talk to me about?"

Was it really that obvious? Keitaro was slightly hesitant at first. He really wanted her to find somebody to bite first so that she wouldn't have to worry. But she was starting to look a bit better. In the end, he came over to her and took a seat on the curb just a few inches away from her. When he did, she held her breath, afraid that she was going to start reacting again. When she didn't she exhaled slowly. She definitely picked up that sweet scent of his blood, though, which she hated. It was the fact that she liked the smell that she felt so embarrassed and could feel herself going red in the face.

"I didn't want to tell you tonight," Keitaro said honestly, staring down at his feet. "But I guess I can't hide it from you any longer."

"It's okay, Keitaro," Kanon replied. She didn't like seeing him down.

"I didn't find a cure over in America. It turns out that the half-vampire town was a lie. Hell… I even failed at finding a single vampire. The last three weeks have been a waste of time."

Kanon knew that this was bad news and now understood why Keitaro was so angry with himself. To him, finding the cure to the half-vampire problem had been his life ever since he awoke as a vampire. Now that he found out that he will never be able to find a cure, it probably was a major pain for him. Kanon could understand what he was going through.

"What does that mean for you?" she wondered.

She never finished her question, but he knew exactly what she was asking. He also knew the answer. But when it came down to it, he couldn't find it within him to tell her that he had given up all hope. How could he tell her that now he was just waiting for himself to go feral? He looked at Kanon with a reassuring smile and noticed the necklace that she had around her neck. It was the same silver necklace that she had been given on her birthday. It almost brought a tear to the vampire hunter's eye to see her still wearing it.

"Everything is going to be okay," he reassured her, giving her a gentle smile.

It was a lie and he couldn't tell if she believed him. She didn't want to think of the truth, so she blocked it out and hugged him again. This kind of startled him.

"Are you sure it's okay getting this close to me again?" he asked her.

"I don't care," Kanon said, tears coming to her eyes.

Keitaro and Kanon sat there for almost ten minutes before deciding to finally leave. There was a cold breeze blowing through the town and the temperature was dropping by the minute. But before they went anywhere, Keitaro insisted that Kanon find a suitable target to inject. Just looking at her, he could tell that she was still feeling minor pain from the blood increasing so it was just better and safer if she got it out of her system all together. It actually didn't take long for them to find somebody and she was quick to bite them, wipe their memory and walk away like nothing happened. By that time it was getting close to one in the morning and there was a small flurry falling from the sky.

"You know Kanon," Keitaro said thoughtfully, "if it ever hurts you too much, you can just bite me."

Kanon blushed. "I wouldn't want to do that to you."

"I really won't mind if it's you," he said honestly. "I would hate myself if you were to have a nosebleed because of me."

"I guess you're right."

Keitaro noticed that she was shivering and kept close to her to keep her warm. "Would you like me to walk you to your house? It's getting pretty cold out here."

Just then, Kanon stopped and starred at the ground. It Keitaro a couple of steps before he realized she had stopped.

"What is it?" he asked, turning around to face her.

"I… uh… I'm not supposed to bring you near the mansion," she said, staring at the ground. "I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you."

"Okay," Keitaro said. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No! It's not that…" she replied quickly. "It's just… My great grandma is awake right now and she still doesn't know about you yet."

"Your… great grandma?" Keitaro asked, slightly confused. "You mean Elda Marker?"

Kanon was surprised that he knew her name. "Do you know her?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I had to know as much about your family as I could find out last year, remember."

"Well, it's just that she was asleep during that whole thing that happened last year and well… She really hates vampire hunters."

Keitaro started to realize what she was saying. "Your great grandma won't exactly take kindly to me, will she?"

Once again, she shook her head. "I'm sorry. My family is afraid that if she finds out the truth about you, she might try to harm you. So I'm not supposed to allow you to go anywhere near her."

"Well that's easy," he replied, smiling. "If you want me to avoid her, then no problem. How hard could it be?"

Her silence said it all. Keitaro then realized that it would actually be extremely hard to avoid her.

"She already knows about me, doesn't she?" he asked slowly.

This time, Kanon nodded. "She knows your name and knows that I'm dating you, but nothing else. She thinks that you are a full blooded vampire as well and asked if she could meet you."

"Um…. Problem…"

"I know," Kanon said softly. She knew it was bad when Keitaro was nervous. "What are we going to do?"

Keitaro thought about it. From the standpoint, he had no choice but to meet Elda Marker face to face. If he didn't, she would most likely get suspicious then start investigating him. But one minute around him and she would immediately realize that he smelled of a human and that might cause her to get suspicious as well.

"How long do we have before she wants to see me?" Keitaro asked.

"She didn't say," Kanon replied. "I told her that I would talk to you about it as long as she didn't use her bats to spy on us. Anju also said she would make sure great grandma wasn't spying on me as well."

Taking a deep breath Keitaro forced a smile. He saw only one way out of this one. "Then tell her I'll meet her in two nights."

* * *

Wow.. I really didn't expect to be able to put out this chapter today. There were so many things that happened including the file going corrupt and me having to restart the entire chapter. I just hope it never happens again. LOL. Hope you enjoy the chapter as much as i did writting it. I'm so glad Kanon and Keitaro are back.


	20. Embarrassment 20

Embarrassment 20: For Her

* * *

Kanon was actually surprised by how calm Keitaro seemed to be. Truth was though that he was extremely nervous. He wasn't about to start a fight with anyone in the Maaka clan, but there was no telling what would happen if Elda found out that Keitaro was the sum of everything she hated. That was why he told Kanon to tell her two days. That would at least be sufficient enough time for him to get ready. Being a vampire hunter, he had a few tricks up his sleeve that he could use to fool vampires.

Since it was getting extremely cold outside, Keitaro decided to cut their night a little short. He didn't want Kanon or him freezing to death outside just so that they could be together. Kanon actually denied it at first. She didn't feel like leaving just yet because she didn't know how long it would be before she would get to see him again.

"Don't worry about it," he reassured her, before giving her a kiss on the forehead. "I'm not going to be going back home for a while. I called my father and told him that I'd be taking some time off so that I could spend it with you."

"Where are you going to be staying," Kanon wondered, thinking back to when Keitaro was living on the street for a short period of time.

"I'm staying in the exact same hotel that I stayed in last time," he said.

"Then let's go there."

She really did want to spend the entire night with him, but he simply refused. "Don't you have to work in the morning? Anyways, we don't want to do that while your grandma is awake, do we? I'll come and visit you after work, okay. Just go home tonight and get some sleep."

Kanon nodded. "Okay."

She gave Keitaro one last hug and started to walk off. But he stopped her again. "By the way… Can you tell your aunt to meet me at my hotel tonight? I'd like to talk to her about something."

It was a little strange for a request but she agreed. Keitaro and Kanon parted ways a few blocks away from the Maaka barrier, just to be safe. Kanon really wasn't happy doing all this sneaking around her great grandma. She wished that she could just go up to Elda and tell her the truth about Keitaro. It would at least make things all the more simple.

When Kanon made it to the front door of the mansion, she could hear the sounds of arguing inside. One of the voices was her aunt Anju. When she opened the door, she saw her grandmother, Carrera standing at the bottom of the stairs. She was talking with Anju who was about halfway up the staircase with Boogie in her arms.

"If you weren't with the vampire last night, then where were you?" Carrera asked, angrily.

"Why does it matter, Mother?" Anju asked.

"What's going on in here?" Kanon asked closing the door.

"Oh, good evening, Kanon," Carrera said turning to her granddaughter and smiling. "It's nothing you need to worry about."

_"It's nothing you need to worry about either,"_ Boogie snapped at her, waving his knife around. _"What Anju does is up to her."_

Carrera glared at Boogie as if she was about to kill him herself. "Anju, shut that doll up before I rip him to shreds myself."

_"Go ahead and try,"_ the doll continued, un-affected by her threats.

"Mother, I told you that I refuse to go see those vampires anymore," Anju said darkly, before turning and walking up the stairs.

"Hey, Anju," Kanon said, running up the stairs to catch her. "Do you mind if I talk to you?"

Anju didn't respond but allowed Kanon to enter her room. Carrera, now pissed off, stormed back into the family room to take her anger out on something else. Kanon hardly ever set foot inside her aunt's room even though she was right next door to her own room. Just like Karin, Kanon got chills from all the dolls that were in the room. She didn't like it that there were hushed voices within the room.

Anju obviously wasn't bothered by the voices though. She tossed Boogie into his chair as she passed and took a seat on the lid of her elegant coffin. She actually looked quite stressed out and it was quite a different sight, even for Kanon. She had never seen her aunt look so physically and mentally exhausted before. But after a few brief moments, she regained her composure and straightened up, making her look more proper, almost like a queen.

"You were out there later than normal, Little Niece," she said in her signature sly yet stoic tone. "Did something happen tonight?"

"Keitaro came home," Kanon said, smiling. "I spent most of the night with him. I also talked to him about great grandma being awake. He said he wants to meet her in two nights."

"He also said that he wants to see you tonight?" she added.

Anju's eyebrows rose at that comment. She and Keitaro had never gotten along well. She knew Keitaro wasn't fond of her and she did little more than put up with him. So why would he want to talk to her tonight? Anju thought about it for a moment then nodded.

"Where is he staying?" she asked.

"He said he's in the same hotel as last time," Kanon said. "You really don't mind going to see him?"

"There is something that I wanted to talk to him about anyways."

After that, Kanon said goodnight to her aunt and decided to go to her own room to go to bed. The moment she closed Anju's door behind her, Boogie let out a loud sigh.

_"God damn, Girly,"_ he giggled. _"You really pulled a close one back there with your mother. You think she knows what you're doing?"_

"It doesn't matter," Anju said softly. "I refuse to meet any more vampire suitors."

_"Yeah, but this other plan isn't working out so well either. Maybe you should just call it quits and go with one of those vampires before your parents decide to just give you to one of them."_

"I know what I'm doing, Boogie," Anju replied, glaring at him.

"_Obviously not, Girly,"_ he said, giggling. _"So far, every person you've approached thought you were crazy. Face it; you're not better at romance than those other vampires."_

Anju decided not to listen to him and went over to the window. She opened up the curtains and summoned a few of her bats to her. Without another word, she was off into the night. She didn't need to tell Boogie where she was going, because he already knew that she was heading towards Keitaro. But he did find it a little odd that she left without saying anything at all. Anju was actually hoping to get to talk to the vampire hunter about something so he wanting to see her just worked out either way.

She could still remember where Keitaro's hotel room was at. He had booked the exact same three bedroom loft sweet as before just because it was one of the best places in town and because it was close to the Maaka barrier. By the time Anju made it to the balcony, she could see Keitaro inside, drinking some sort of liquid out of a wine bottle. The bottles reminded her of the exact same ones her family used to store blood. He didn't see her at first, and seemed to be so enticed in the drink as he downed the entire bottle.

He had the door to the balcony opened up so that the room could get some air. But even though it was just below freezing outside, Keitaro's body felt extremely hot. It was almost as if he had been sitting inside a sauna for the entire day. He seemed so preoccupied and his back was turned to the balcony that he didn't see Anju walk right inside the room. She was about to say something to him when he lowered the bottle and smiled.

"You may be able to fool other people," he said turning around, "but you aren't going to scare me anytime soon, Anju."

Anju didn't give a smile, but on the inside she found it a little funny. Most people, whether vampire or human jumped every time she would appear behind them. But of course Keitaro would have sensed her coming. She actually felt a little hurt that she couldn't get the same reaction out of him as she could everyone else.

"At least, you didn't pull out a gun on me this time, Hunter," Anju said, in a very monotone voice. That was when she realized that Keitaro looked horrible. His eyes had red circles around them and he looked tired, like he hadn't had a good night's sleep in days. Not only that, but there was a strong smell of blood coming from the bottle that he was holding. Her little eyes widened when she saw it. "What exactly are you drinking, Hunter?"

Keitaro just hid the bottle behind his back. "It's nothing. Just a bit of soda to help cool me down."

The smell told a different story. Any vampire would know the smell of blood instantly. That wasn't a soda in that bottle. But why would Keitaro be drinking blood now? And that look on his face. He looked like he was starting to lose it. Anju had no clue that Keitaro was going through extreme pain at the moment and had no clue that he was starting to lose it as well. But she started to wonder if it was even smart to keep pestering him about it.

"What is happening to you?" she asked.

Keitaro sighed and took a seat on the edge of the couch. "I guess that's the reason I wanted to talk to you. It's starting to get worse. I guess you can say my body has given up and is starting to change."

Anju couldn't believe it. "Have you told my niece?"

All he could do was shake his head. "I don't want her to know. Tonight, she looked so happy to see me again, what was I going to say?"

"How long…"

"A couple weeks, if I'm lucky," he said quickly. "Anju, Kanon can't stay with me anymore. We knew that this day was going to come sooner or later. I tried to find a cure, and I failed. I don't want Kanon to have to go through the pain of seeing me in this state."

He looked up to Anju to see if she would say anything. For the first time in a while, she looked a little scared. She didn't expect him to want to talk to her about this. But what she did next startled him even more. She literally walked up to him and slapped him across the face. He did nothing to stop her, but was quite surprised that she did it.

"Stupid hunter," she said darkly. "How could you even think of asking something like that of me?"

"Because you don't even like me anyways," Keitaro said calmly. Anju was quiet again. "You don't want to have to deal with me anymore than you do already, Anju."

"This isn't about you," she said darkly. "I may not like you, but my niece loves you. I'm not going to try to get her to leave you for somebody else. That's up to her."

"You'll be hurting her in the long run," Keitaro added. "How many tears do you think she will shed when I'm gone?"

"You talk as if you are already dead, Hunter. Why don't you tell her yourself?"

"Because I love her!" Keitaro said angrily. He startled Anju and she took a step back. Keitaro got to his feet and paced around the room silently. When he started talking again, he was talking above little more than a whisper. "I told you that I didn't deserve to fall in love with a girl as perfect as Kanon. Now look where it has brought us. I know she's not going to leave me and I can't stand to let her go. But we both know what is going to happen to me now. Look at me Anju, just look what's happening to me. I'm becoming the one thing I vowed I'd never become."

Anju was silent once again. She had completely forgotten why she had come here in the first place. She did not expect something like this to happen and still wondered why Keitaro was telling her.

"Hunter," she said softly, this time with little emotion in her voice. "Remember what I told you the first time I saw you. I told you that if you harmed Little Niece, I would never forgive you. I still mean it. Kanon still cares about you, and she isn't going to leave you anytime soon. So tell her the truth."

Keitaro knew all along that this was what he was going to have to do. Even though he wanted to see Kanon happy, he couldn't bear to see her leave him. Because, the truth was, Kanon made him happy. He loved being near her just as much as she liked being near him. There was only one thing he could do.

* * *

So what do you think. I'm placing a quick poll cause I'm a little lost. Just like my first story I have a few ways this story could go and I want you to help me decide.

A. Keitaro confesses to Kanon and tells her that he is starting to go feral.

B. He trys to keep it a secret from her so that he doesn't hurt her and decides to leave her.

C. Kanon finds out on her own when Keitaro does something to give it away.

Like the last time either one of these could work and sound good so please post a review telling me which one you would like to see and I'll post another chapter after halloween. Until then, I'm taking a quick break. Happy Halloween.


	21. Embarrassment 21

Embarrassment 21: Confessions

* * *

After Keitaro had said his peace, Anju decided to cut their meeting short. She couldn't even remember why she had wanted to see him in the first place. For some reason, being near Keitaro just didn't seem right. She could sense that there was more going on with him than even he wanted to tell her. He didn't seem too bothered that she was leaving anyways.

"Anju," he said, not looking at her. "Don't tell anybody what's happening."

Anju didn't reply, but walked out onto the balcony and flew off on a cloud of bats. After a few minutes, Keitaro went over to the door and slid it closed. He had been hoping that Anju would help him out on this one, but as far as he could tell, all he had done was piss her off. Of course she wouldn't do anything that would make Kanon sad. However, now Keitaro would have to make the choice on if he would stay with her or not. It wasn't an easy decision. As much as he loved her, he knew that the only way she would be safe is if he left.

_There is nothing you can do, Keitaro,_ the voice whispered in his ear. _No matter what you do, you will end up hurting her. When that happens, you'll be all alone._

"Just leave me alone," Keitaro muttered, taking a seat at his table. "You don't know me. Just get out of my head."

_Of course I know you, Keitaro,_ the voice continued, laughing at his pain. _I know you simply because I am you. I am your desire and lust for blood._

"You're just a figment of my imagination," Keitaro muttered, trying to shut out of the voice. "You aren't real."

_Just you wait. Soon you'll be unable to control your killing instinct. When that happens, I'll be the one to take over. Hehehe."_

Keitaro didn't know what to believe anymore. All he knew was that he was starting to run short on time. He was starting to require blood daily, the headaches weren't going away, and the voice was getting stronger each day, creating dark images within his head. All of his hard work had been for nothing. He tried so hard to refuse his need for blood, and learned to cope with the headaches. But now it was as if all of it had gone to waste. How long would it be before he snapped and actually attacked somebody? When that time comes, there would be no turning back. He had killed many feral half-vampires before. He knew the look in their face. It was the same features that he saw in the mirror. When a half-vampire goes completely feral, they lose touch with reality. All that matters is their hunger and they will kill to get it.

"Why does it have to end this way?" Keitaro asked nobody in particular. "What the hell did I do wrong?"

It was a long time before Keitaro could force himself to fall asleep. By the time he did, the morning sun was high in the sky. He had finally come to a conclusion though, and decided to tell Kanon the full truth. What he did after that, he would leave in the hands of fate.

Anju may have kept her mouth shut about Keitaro's problem, but Kanon knew that there was something wrong with her boyfriend. Her blood never lied to her, and she knew that Keitaro had a lot of anger built up in him. However, it wasn't the same as last time. She had never had such a strong reaction to him like she did the night before. Also, it seemed so sudden and violent, but quickly went away. It was almost as if for one moment, Keitaro had a sudden buildup of rage. He had said that everything was going to be okay, but she knew better. Why didn't she question him then and there? Was it possible that she just didn't want to believe the truth? She really couldn't say.

Even when her alarm awoke her at noon the next day, she was thinking about what had happened the night before. She decided the best way would be just to talk to him about it.

_But first,_ Kanon thought, as she brushed her hair back, getting ready for work, _I have to deal with Great Grandma._

After Kanon had tied her hair back into a ponytail and finished getting dressed, she headed down the staircase and went into the kitchen to make breakfast. She was startled when she ran right into her Great Grandma, who was looking through the fridge at all the "human food."

"Grandma," Kanon said, slightly startled. She hadn't expected somebody else in the house to be awake. "What are you doing up now?"

"I was hungry," Elda teased, continued to rummage through the fridge. She pulled out a loaf of bread and smelled it. Making a nasty face, she tossed it back into the fridge and closed the door. "Human food is so disgusting. It's no wonder they only live eighty years or so."

"I talked with Keitaro," Kanon said quickly, changing the subject. Elda gave her a suspicious look. "He's coming over tomorrow."

Elda's reaction wasn't exactly what she had expected. In fact, she acted like she hadn't even heard her granddaughter and left the room. But once she out of Kanon's sight, she gave a slight smile.

The rest of the day seemed to run quite smoothly for Kanon. Other than the large group of people that showed up at the bakery to buy Hina's famous nikuman, the day was quite interesting. The bakery ended up staying open longer than usual, and Kanon ended up having to stay late. Not only that but later in the day, Nariko showed up at the bakery to tell her that she was going to be busy with a school project tonight and couldn't hang out. Kanon was slightly disappointed but it didn't seem to bother her because, Keitaro showed up around closing time to walk her home.

"Oh, Keitaro," Manager Hina said, surprised to see him. "I haven't seen you around here in a while."

"I just got back yesterday," Keitaro said. He gave a look around the bakery. "Is Kanon here?"

"She just went into the back to clean up," Hina replied. She then reached behind the counter and pulled out a plate of chocolate chip cookies. "Would you like some? We didn't sell many of these today, so we have a lot of leftovers."

"I'm fine," Keitaro said politely. "I'll just wait for her outside."

By the time Kanon had finished cleaning and changed over into her normal clothing, Keitaro had been waiting outside for about fifteen minutes. She was glad to see that he looked better tonight than he did the night before. Smiling, she went out the door to meet him.

"Sorry for making you wait," she said, opening the bakery door and hugging him.

"Don't worry about it," Keitaro said. He let go of her and stared down at the ground. "Kanon, there's something I need to talk to you about."

"Not here," she quickly said.

She grabbed his arm and led him away from the bakery. He expected her to bring him to the park, like she usually did. Instead, she brought him to her old school. As it was night, the school would be empty. Even in the park, there was a chance that somebody might pass by. But at the school, nobody would ever pay any attention to them.

"We should be okay here," Kanon said, looking around.

Her eagerness to talk with him actually caught him by surprise. His initial thought was that Anju may have spilled the beans and told Kanon what was happening to Keitaro. "Did you know I was going to talk to you?"

Kanon shook her head and gave him a look of deep concern. He could feel her eyes searching his with much pain. Tears would definitely be flowing before the night was up.

"Keitaro, can I ask you something?" she said softly. "Do you think we're always be together?"

It was like a shotgun to the face. He was ready for her to ask anything but this, and the way that she asked it…. There was so much fear.

"W-why do you a-ask?" he stuttered.

Kanon was silent at first and averted her eyes from him. "Because… because of everything that's happening. My family doesn't want us to be together…"

"Don't worry about them, Kanon," he quickly said. "Your family is just looking out for you and don't want to see you in harm's way."

But she continued on as if she hadn't heard him. "… and now I get the feeling like you're not telling me the truth."

"I… um…. Wait."

She still ignored his comments for the moment. She wanted to finish what she had to say. "Keitaro, please… tell me the truth… what's going to happen next?"

Keitaro was silent. All last night, he had been practicing for this moment. But now, staring her in the face, he couldn't find the right words to say. It was so hard to just come out and say that he was going feral. But when he saw the tears slowly coming down her cheek, he gave a slight shudder and grabbed hold of her hands. What he said next wasn't exactly what he had planned, but he decided to let his heart do the talking.

"I really don't know what's going to happen next," he said honestly, holding her hands close to him. Kanon remained silent but starred up into his eyes suddenly feeling safer, mentally. Keitaro just cleared his mind of all thoughts and continued. "But you are right, Kanon. I was lying when I told you everything would be alright."

She knew deep down that that would be his answer, and it only made her want to cry more.

"However," he continued, "no matter what happens I would never dream of leaving you. I love you, Kanon Usui. I know you hear me say it a thousand times, but it's true. Your family may not trust me… hell, your aunt wants to kill me half the time…"

She laughed, which made him smile.

"But don't ever think that I would want anything to change."

"But what about us being half-vampires?" Kanon asked.

"What about it?" Keitaro continued in his gentle tone. "Right now, there are no problems. So let's not worry about it until it becomes a problem."

"I guess you're right," Kanon said. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm feeling just as good as I did yesterday," he said.

Once again, Keitaro had completely dodged telling her the truth just so that he could see her smile again. But it was different this time. Keitaro now knew that no matter what happened, he would never leave Kanon to her pain. There was no way that he would ever allow himself to go feral if it meant Kanon would have to be alone. It's too bad his will isn't as strong as his desire…

* * *

And so, after a long break we finally start the second half of the story. I've had some time to think and now, thanks to some help from some of you, especially Osuahiru-sama and LexiGirl, I know exactly how I plan to continue the story. Thank you for all the reviews and I hope to see more for future chapters.


	22. Embarrassment 22

Embarrassment 22: Killing the Cat

* * *

Even though Kanon was content with Keitaro's lie of him being alright, there was one that wasn't. Anju had been spying on them with her bats as usual. This time, it wasn't her intent to be a spy. She had just taken it upon herself to keep an eye on Kanon ever since she was born. It was because when she was watching over her little niece, it reminded her of the old days with her big sister. When Keitaro showed up, she had half a mind to have her bat leave the two of them alone, but curiosity got the better of her. She found a secluded place on the roof of the mansion and focused all of her attention on the two of them, listening and hoping Keitaro would come to his senses and just tell Kanon the truth.

No such luck. Keitaro basically changed the subject just to cheer Kanon up. It seemed to be his weakness, which made sense. Ever since Keitaro had awoken as a vampire, he had little to no contact with anyone. He still wasn't used to all these emotions. But that didn't make Anju any happier. She had half a mind to tell Kanon herself, but decided against it.

_You better know what you are doing hunter,_ Anju thought to herself. She lay on her back and closed her eyes, focusing all her mind on what her bat was seeing. _If you hurt Little Niece in any way…_

"How long are you planning on hiding up here?" a voice asked, breaking her concentration. She opened up one eye to see her grandmother standing over her, dressed in an ancient dress that made even Anju's wardrobe look like today's fashion. In her hands, she held an identical frilly umbrella. "What has got your mind so distracted, that you have to hide from the rest of the family? I wonder…"

Now that Anju's concentration was fully broken, not that it required that much for a vampire of her skill to keep an eye on all of her bats at once, she got to her feet without saying a word and walked to the edge of the roof and stared off into the distance. Elda was not pleased.

"Oh, I see," she sneered. "Now that I found your horrible hiding spot on the roof, you're going to go find some other place to hide from your family."

"I don't need to hide, Grandma," Anju said darkly, still staring off at the town. "Besides, I have a date that I need to go to."

Elda just started laughing. "Is that the best lie you can come up with? I've heard that you've shot down ever vampire suitor from here to Europe. Frankly, I'm proud of you. No vampire is good enough for my grandchildren's hands in marriage."

"You found love, Grandma," Anju said, ignoring her comment. "That means he was good enough for you?"

Elda just sighed and walked up to her grandchild, twirling her umbrella around in one hand. "James… was different. Unlike the pathetic vampires these days, James knew something about romance. Back then, we vampires weren't worried about going extinct. James did a lot just to win me over."

Anju continued to stare off into space, as if she wasn't paying attention. But she heard every last word that Elda said. She had heard the story of when Elda and James came over many times. What she was saying was true. The only reason her grandfather won Elda's heart was because he was so persistent. Even though Anju didn't show it, she envied that.

Before Elda could continue on ancient stories of her and James, Anju summoned down a group of her bats to pick her up. The motion was enough to snap Elda out of her rambling trance.

"Where are you going now?" she wondered.

"I already told you," Anju muttered, rising off the roof on her cloud-o-bats. "I have a date."

She didn't give her grandmother any more info than that. No surprise that Elda was extremely confused. She couldn't tell if Anju was telling the truth or not. She would have followed her if she cared more for Anju, but there was still the strained relation between the two of them and much like Elda felt about Carrera, she could care less what Anju was up to. She hadn't even been on the roof looking for her granddaughter in the first place. She had been hungry all day, and was planning on going out to feed. Getting to a high point helped her sniff out her prey.

Just a few blocks of way, just out of sight and smell of Elda, Kanon and Keitaro were heading in the direction of the Maaka barrier. On any normal night, Keitaro would probably walk her all the way to her front door. But with Kanon's great grandmother still awake, it was causing quite the annoyance for both of them. Keitaro had been working out just how he was going to fool her, and it finally brought up an idea.

"Hey, Kanon," Keitaro said, stopping at one of the corners. "I need to go back home tonight."

"What for?" Kanon wondered.

"I got to pick up some stuff from home." He paused for a moment. "I also haven't seen my father in a while so I should spend some time with him."

Kanon giggled lightly. She knew that Keitaro didn't like his father very much so it made her smile when he was willing to talk nicely about him.

"I really don't mind, Keitaro," she said before leaning in and giving him a peck on the lips. "I'll see you at my house tomorrow, okay."

"You aren't nervous?" he wondered.

She just smiled. "Well, I'll admit I'm afraid of what great grandma might do to you…"

"Don't be," he reassured her. "She's not going to find out the truth about me. If I can fool the entire elder house into thinking I was one of your family, I'm sure I can trick you grandma."

Keitaro was being slightly cocky, but he was so sure of himself this time. After all, it was his job to deal with vampires. How hard could it be to trick one old vampire into believing that he's a normal vampire?

Even though it was quite early in the night, he said his goodbyes to Kanon and took off down the street towards the bus station. Kanon stood there waving goodbye to him until he had turned a corner and was out of sight before heading back to the mansion. Keitaro didn't get far before he decided to stop and pull out his cell phone to dial home. He hadn't actually expected anyone to pick up. He was actually hoping Hotaru would be out working like usual. But that wasn't the case.

"I didn't expect for you to be calling this late, Son," Hotaru said sternly.

There was a sudden rush of air overhead that caused Keitaro to look up. He could have sworn that he saw somebody jump onto the building above him. He decided to be brief with his conversation.

"I was just calling to say that I'm coming home tonight, Father," Keitaro said, still scanning the rooftops for something or somebody. "Are you planning on going anywhere?"

"Nothing that I can cancel, Son," Hotaru's voice said into the son. For once he sounded like he was actually caring. "Keitaro, is there something wrong?"

There it was again. He saw the figure leave a nearby building and jump to a lower one just across the street. The person, whoever it was, was definitely not human. First thoughts were that the person was Anju stalking Keitaro again. But something about the size of her silhouette didn't seem right. Keitaro thought it might be Karin.

"Dad, I'm gonna have to let you go," Keitaro muttered into the phone before hanging up.

The person on the roof had definitely gotten his attention. It was obviously another vampire just by her actions, the large umbrella, and the two large bats flapping around her, and he could easily tell it was female just by the figure. But it was too dark out and he was too far away to make out exactly who it was. He didn't have long to ponder before the person leapt off the roof and literally floated into the sky.

Keitaro knew he should turn around there and go home. Even if it was one of the Maakas, they were probably out feeding. To disturb them now would be a great disrespect. Not only that, he had no legitimate reason to follow them other than out of curiosity. Not only that, but by the direction the female was flying, she was heading in the same direction he was supposed to be going. His home.

He decided to follow her as far as his house, just because it was convenient. Besides, the Maaka clan would never stray that far away from their own territory. Keitaro's home was a few miles away. But it was quite strange how far the vampire led him away before she finally decided to drop within an alley way. He had been silently chasing her for almost twenty blocks. He was almost sure that it was Karin though.

The alley that the mysterious vampire was in was one that Keitaro knew extremely well. He didn't like this area too much and hadn't been here in a few years. It was just quiet enough and there so few cars out tonight, that he could just barely make out the sounds of waves as they crashed onto the beach just a few blocks away. He hadn't realized until just now how far he had run to follow this person until now.

_Just ignore it, Keitaro,_ he told himself as he shook away bad memories and inched towards the alleyway. By now, the vampire could have been here and gone. The closer he got, he could see not one, but five or more men and women lying unconscious on the ground. Each and every one of them with bite marks on their neck. Keitaro was amazed. _Even Anju doesn't drink this much blood. Who the hell am I following?_

It wasn't long before he could see somebody standing in the alleyway. She had her umbrella blocking the view from her face. But Keitaro could see that she was embarrassing somebody, getting her fill of blood from a sixth victim of the night. When she dropped the man to the ground she raised her umbrella. Keitaro could just make out who it was. There was long purple hair and she was wearing what looked like ancient clothing. Her eyes were closed and she was licking her fingers, most likely to get any extra blood.

"Karin?" Keitaro said without thinking, completely snapping her out of her trance.

The mysterious person looked at Keitaro, her catlike eyes going wide with shock. "I've been found out."

It took Keitaro all of one second to realize that it wasn't Karin that he was staring at. But it didn't matter, because from above the vampire, her two large bats swooped down and came flying right towards him. Keitaro braced for impact.


	23. Embarrassment 23

Embarrassment 23: Secrets in the Family

* * *

Keitaro knew that he was in quite the problem. The person that he had followed had been the exact person that he had been trying to avoid since he had gotten back in Japan. The moment she saw him, she freaked out, thinking that another human had spotted her feeding and immediately had two of her bats attack him. Keitaro could have easily dodged the bats if he wanted to. But he knew if he did that, Elda would probably realize she wasn't a normal human and might try to kill him. Taking a deep breath, he waited for the bats to attack him.

Being knocked out by a vampire's bat wasn't extremely painful but it was still quite uncomfortable. All Keitaro could remember was the bats covering his face. There was a flapping of wings, then darkness. He knew it was stupid for him to be following one of the Maaka's and even before he was sent spinning into darkness, he knew what would happen to him. At least he pulled it off and Elda wasn't the wiser. Seconds after her two bats swarmed over him, he fell to the ground unconcious.

"Stupid human," Elda said, smirking. "That was a close one."

She walked up to him and looked down at him, smelling the air. She had never smelt blood like his before. It sparked her curiosity. Even though she had just had her fill of blood, she could feel her fangs growing. His blood seemed to fit her affinity perfectly, and the fact that his blood smelt different than most humans made her even more curious. But instead of satisfying her urges, she squated down next to the teenager and started examining him. It didn't take long before she noticed his mouth. After making sure he was out cold, she reached one hand to his upper lip and raised, exposing a small pearly white fang. Elda's eyes flashed with excitement.

_A half-vampire?_ she thought to herself. _This explains why he has the same kind of sent that my sweet Kanon has._

A thought crossed her mind to kill him. She extremely dispised half-vampires and why did this one happen to show up while she was feeding? She didn't like it one bit. Luckily, a few of the other people started to stir nearby. The effects of her bats knocking them out was starting to wear off. She just smiled and stood up.

_It looks like it's your lucky night,_she thought, before wiping his memory as well as everyone elses.

After that, she grabbed her umbrella and left the alleyway. Keitaro had just barely escaped with his life and he would be none the wiser when he awoke. The problem was that now Elda knew his face. She knew who he was and knew his scent. What she didn't know was that she would be seeing him again before long.

A few miles away, Kanon slowly made her way to the Maaka mansion. It was no use. After Keitaro had left Kanon for the night, she had nothing better to do than head back home. It was still quite early in the night so she was expecting most of the family to be still asleep. Other than Anju and Karin, who always seemed to be up the moment the sun went down, Elda, Carrera, and Henry always managed to sleep through half of the night, often waking up around midnight.

What Kanon did not expect was for her cousin, Tohru Maaka to be sitting in the kitchen when she walked in. It actually made her jump slightly. Her eyes hadn't fully adjusted to the darkness yet and she really didn't expect anyone to be in the kitchen. He just leaned back in his chair with a bottle of ice cold blood and snickered at her.

"You're quite jumpy tonight," Tohru said, eyeing her.

"I'm sorry," Kanon said, bowing. "I didn't expect anybody to be in here."

"What are you doing here anyways? Shouldn't you be out with Keitaro or something?"

Kanon blushed slightly. She tried to hide it by walking over to the fridge and opening it, pretending to be rummaging around for something to eat, but Tohru saw it. He gave a sly grin and took a swig from the bottle.

"Keitaro went home for the night," Kanon said, honestly. "What about you? Weren't you trying to avoid great grandma? Why are you here?"

"I'm not afraid of Grandma, like Pops is," he stated. "Besides, she's not here right now anyways and I was in the neighborhood. I decided to stop by."

Tohru didn't seem like the kind of person who would just drop by to say hello. After all, she had heard Ren talk about how little he actually saw his son. Even more odd was how early in the night he had come over. It was just a little past nine in the evening. Kanon was about to figure out what he was up to when she got a call on her phone.

She pulled it out, expecting the number to be either Keitaro's or Nariko's. It was neither. In fact, she didn't recognize this number. She wondered who had gotten a hold of her number and would be calling at a time like this. She answered it out of curiosity.

"Hello," she said into the phone.

"Hello. Am I speaking to Kanon Usui," replied a young male voice that Kanon didn't recognize at first.

"Yes," she said cautiously, then added, "Who is this?"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten already. It's Takeshi."

"Takeshi?" She had completely forgotten about him and it surprised her. Even Tohru gave her a surprised look when he heard her say his name. "How did you get my phone number?"

"You gave it to me," he said cheerfully.

"I-I did?"

She really couldn't remember. In fact, she didn't even know he had a phone in the first place. Ever since Keitaro had come back she had completely forgotten about the night they spent together. Now she felt bad.

"I've been meaning to call you," he continued on. "It's almost been a week so I was wondering if you and I would like to meet up again soon."

It was a good thing that Kanon was on the phone with him because she was starting to go red in the face again. Tohru actually was having a good time watching his little cousin's reactions.

"You still would like to hang out with me again?" Kanon said, absolutely flattered.

"Of course I want to. Who wouldn't miss out in the chance to hang out with such a beautiful girl?" He had been on the phone with her for just a minute and he was already hitting on her. However, Kanon ate it all up. She didn't seem bothered and was quite flattered that Takeshi felt about her that way. "I'm going to be near the Maaka's territory for only a couple more days."

Kanon thought about it for a second. She told him that she would meet him in two nights. Since she still hadn't asked her family if it would be alright for him to enter their territory again and tomorrow she had a date with Keitaro, it would give her ample amount of time to get ready. After he agreed he said his goodbyes in the most flirtatious of ways, then hung up. Kanon smiled, as she put away her cell phone.

"Sounds like somebody has the hots for you," Tohru teased in his stuck up tone.

It just made Kanon blush furiously again. "You heard what he said?"

He pointed to his ears and gave her a smug grin. "I got better hearing than you, Cousin. Or did you forget? Why are you even seeing him? A man who talks to you like that wants more than just to be your friend."

"Takeshi isn't that kind of person," Kanon said in his defense. "He's just being nice."

"Yeah…" he scoffed. "How long have you known him? One night?"

"Grandpa and Grandma trust him enough to allow him to see me," Kanon noted.

"Of course they trust him," he said, still giving his cocky smile. "They want to see you dating a normal vampire, instead of a half vampire hunter like Keitaro."

Even though Tohru was making a good point, Kanon didn't like the fact that he was making fun of her. It was like she was arguing with her brother.

"Even if that is true," she said. "It's not like I want to go out with him. I'm with Keitaro."

"Yeah… For how much longer?"

She went silent for a moment, her smile fading. "What do you mean by that?"

"It's nothing," he said quickly, trying to change the subject. "Do us all a favor, Kanon. Don't do anything stupid. We try so hard to keep you safe from the other vampire clans. If I have to come after you just because you trusted somebody you shouldn't, I'm not going to let you off easily."

"I thought all that was done and over with," she said softly. "I gave my blood for them, didn't I? What more do the other clans want from me?"

"I don't know," he replied. He stood up and walked over to the sink to rinse out the empty bottle. When he turned to her, she was surprised to see how serious he was. "But as long as you have your family and stick by Keitaro's side, I'm pretty sure you won't ever be harmed. Later, Cousin."

Tohru left without another word, leaving Kanon feeling extremely surprised. She had never expected him to act in such a way. Kanon was like everyone else in the Maaka family and rarely spent any time around Tohru Maaka. He was the spitting image of his father and even held himself the same way Ren did, but Kanon could see he wasn't the same. Part of her really wanted to know who Tohru was. He seemed so mysterious, spending only an hour or two around the family before disappearing into the night. They were both about the same age, so if he were to tell anyone what he was up to, it would probably be her.

And that's what confused her even more. He was still very cocky, but he seemed to care about his younger cousin. What was she to him and why was he so eager to speak the truth with her. Even Anju wouldn't tell Kanon that they were keeping a close eye on her at all times. She just really didn't understand.

The moment Tohru was outside the Maaka mansion, he summoned a few of his bats to pick him up. The sixteen year old vampire did not use nearly as many bats as Anju or Elda did, but they were still able to pick him up without any problems. He didn't return home. Rather he landed on top of the roof of a restroom in the park before having his bats disperse.

Tohru Maaka had a reason for being at the Maaka mansion that night. He was only there long enough to talk with Kanon. He knew that Keitaro had left early and even knew the exact reasons as to why they had departed so early in the night. Tohru just wanted to be near Kanon so that he could confirm one thing. Tohru closed his eyes and focused all of his attention on what bats he had.

_Who the hell is this Takeshi character and what is he doing near here?_ he thought to himself calmly. _Something doesn't seem right about this._

He didn't have long to ponder before his attention was caught by somebody walking into the park. Not just somebody, but two people, one of which was his aunt Anju. The person she was walking side by side with was a young man looking about eighteen or nineteen. He was almost a foot taller than her. She was at least fifty meters away from the restroom and if she did sense him, she didn't make any notion of him being there. Tohru thought that maybe she had found a victim to feed upon and smiled smugly. He found it interesting that Anju could use her beautiful petite form just to sway humans into dropping their guard around her. It made watching her hunt quite the sight to see.

But the way she was walking so close to the human male didn't seem to right. He had caught sight of every single member in his family feeding and knew that this was different. Tohru's smile only grew larger, and he disappeared leaving the two alone. He didn't need to see anything else to know what was going on.

_I guess everyone in the family has their own secrets,_ he thought as he left his Aunt to her date.

* * *

I'm sorry it's been so long since I updated last. Hopefully I can get back on track.


	24. Embarrassment 24

Embarrassment 24: Last Conversation

* * *

It was almost an entire hour before Keitaro finally stirred awake. Elda's bat had hit him much harder than even she expected. He was still spinning and was extremely cold when he sat up and looked around. By now, everyone else had gotten up on their own and left. Keitaro was the only one left in the alleyway. The problem was, he had no idea why he was here. After Elda had knocked him out, she had erased his memory of the past hour. He couldn't even remember following her. The last thing he remembered was saying goodbye to Kanon then making a call to his father. He remembered seeing a figure on a nearby roof. The rest was darkness.

"Did I just get attacked by a vampire?" he wondered. Instinctively, he started checking his body for fang marks. If a vampire were to knock him out, he would expect them to feed on him. But of course, Elda never had time to bite him. "I'm clean. Who the hell was that on top of the roof?"

He decided not to spend too much time thinking about it. He guessed that he probably startled a vampire and was attacked. There was no reason for him to try and bring back his memory. Using the side of the building next to him, he slowly got to his feet and stretched. It was freezing cold outside and his cell phone told him that it was getting close to midnight. The sky above was once again threatening snowfall. But Keitaro wasn't bothered so much by that. He was more curious about where he happened to have been knocked out.

The alleyway brought many bad memories for Keitaro. Like an echo in the back of his head, he could still hear the woman screaming as well as a child crying somewhere in the distance. Of all places for him to be, it had to be here. He had only come here once, on the first day. The day when he claimed his life ended.

_I got to get out of here,_ Keitaro thought to himself.

Rubbing his cold arms, he quickly left the empty alleyway before he could bring back any more bad memories. It wasn't too many blocks before Keitaro saw a familiar place. A place that he used to call his home. It was an average size house in the middle of Tokyo. Technically it was still Keitaro's home, but ever since he had become a vampire hunter, he spent more time in hotels and out in town than he did at that house. There were lights on inside the home, but it didn't give Keitaro much warmth. He knew that his father was there right now. Taking a deep breath, he walked up to the door and entered the house.

"I'm home," Keitaro said, stepping inside the house and out of his shoes. "Father, are you here?"

It wasn't long before Hotaru Cross walked in through the living room and gave his son a soft but fake smile. "It's about time you showed up, Son."

"I got held up," Keitaro muttered, thinking to the vampire that attacked him. "Sorry I didn't come home sooner."

"No need to apologize," Hotaru replied. "You're a man now. You don't me to hold your hand anymore. Would you like some tea?"

Keitaro didn't come home to relax, but his father meant no harm. Slowly but surely, he nodded and followed his father into the kitchen.

Keitaro never truly hated his father. On the contrary, he looked up to Hotaru. When he was younger, he admired what his father did and always tried his best to please him. But what he always hated was the fact that Hotaru never treated him like he was a son. To him, Keitaro was nothing more than another person; easily forgotten. Just over a year ago, Hotaru wanted him dead. What kind of father wants that of his son?

So there was quite a strained relationship between the two of them. Since Hotaru didn't see him like a son, he didn't see Hotaru as a father. The only reason Keitaro even spent time around him was because he worked for him. But tonight was going to be his last conversation with Hotaru before he leaved for good. At least, that was the idea that he had in his mind.

"So I take it, you never found what you were looking for in America?" Hotaru asked, pouring his son a glass of hot tea before taking a seat at the table.

"You know the answer to that, Dad," Keitaro snapped. "And it was no thanks to you?"

"You're blaming me just because you couldn't find the half-bloods?" he asked calmly, eyeing his son.

"Why did you call ahead and tell the other hunters that I was coming?" he said, standing up and glaring at his father. "They know what I am now because of you."

"I never called them," Hotaru said, still remaining calm.

"That's a load of crap!" Keitaro had only been in the room for a few minutes and he was already wishing he had never come. "You promised that you would never tell the other members that I was a half-vampire."

"Just because you hide it from them doesn't change what you are," Hotaru replied standing up. "Grow up, Keitaro. I never promised you anything."

"Why couldn't you have told me the truth when I was younger? Why didn't you tell me I was a half-vampire? Why didn't you tell me that you were a vampire?"

"Because I didn't think this would happen!" he finally yelled back. The two of them stared each other down with anger. "Is this what you came home for? Just to get into another argument about how I lied to you, your brother, and your mother? Shit happens Keitaro! So what if this isn't the life you wanted. You think I had it easy? I was born as a failure of a vampire. My mother and father disowned me because I never awoke as a vampire. What makes your life any worse?"

"You're condition isn't going to be the death of you!" Keitaro said.

Even as the words left his mouth, he started regretting saying it. Finally, he sat back down in the chair and stared blankly off into space. It had taken him a moment to realize that he was blaming his father for his own problems. Hotaru just stared at his son before sitting back down himself.

"I never told anyone that you were going to America, Son," he said softly. "And I'm sorry that you weren't able to find the cure you were looking for."

"Save it, Father," Keitaro said at the same level of volume. "What does it matter anyways? I didn't do this for myself anyways. I did it for her…"

Hotaru knew immediately who he was talking about. "You put her life before your own? Why?"

"Because I knew months ago that it was too late for me," Keitaro replied. "But there is still hope for Kanon. But now…"

He didn't want to think about it anymore. Instead, he grabbed for the glass of tea and quietly drank it. Hotaru took the hint and stopped there. For the first time in a long while, he felt sorry for his son. He would never understand what Keitaro had to go through. But he knew what made him happy and was sticking with that. And that thing was Kanon.

Keitaro didn't stay at his house for much longer. Just long enough to get the things he had come for. But for the rest of the night he stayed much quieter, thinking things over in his head. Hotaru actually saw his son to the door and gave him a hug before he left. He knew that it may be the last time his son saw him. During the argument, he could see the rage inside of him. Even Keitaro's father knew that his son was running short on time.

"Don't let her go," was the last thing he had said to Keitaro before closing the door.

It had been planned years ago, when Keitaro first joined Cross Organization. The day he became a vampire hunter he had one exception. If he were unable to find a cure to going feral, he would leave the organization. Keitaro never wanted to see the day when he would finally lose touch with reality. When that day came, he promised his father that he would "take care of it" himself.

Keitaro finally made it back to his hotel just as the morning sun rose over Tokyo. Even now, the sun seemed almost too bright to be enjoyable. He only managed to get a bit of sleep the entire day. The entire time, he was wishing that he had been nicer to his father. Hotaru had never wanted Keitaro to go feral. He spent the last four years of his life, trying to find stories of half-vampire towns just so that his son could go there looking for a cure. Even though they never found what they were looking for, Keitaro couldn't help but feel glad to know that maybe his father really did care about him.

"Dad," he whispered, "I'm sorry."

* * *

Today is a short chapter and originally wasn't going to be in the story. Mostly because it doesn't tell you anything that hasn't already been said before. But I finally decided to add it just because it shows the relationship between Keitaro and Hotaru Cross. Enjoy.


	25. Embarrassment 25

Embarrassment 25: Anju's Problem

* * *

Night seemed to take forever for Keitaro. He couldn't even remember falling asleep during the day and when he awoke early the next night, he was still extremely tired. He was used to sleeping when the opportunity arose. But every time he slept during the day and was up during the night, he felt like a vampire.

What Keitaro didn't expect was for Anju to show up on his balcony literally right as soon as it was dark enough to call safe for her. Of course she tried to sneak up on him again. He happened to be still trying to get some sleep when she showed up. She was lucky that he no longer had his weapon on him. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was her standing over his bed. He almost attacked her. But she seemed pleased with herself for scaring him.

"Anju, don't do that again," Keitaro said, sitting up in his bed and catching his breath. "What are you doing here anyways? It's only seven."

"Just checking in on you, Hunter," Anju said slyly.

"Yeah, I'm sure," he replied sarcastically. "No normal vampire is ever up this early in the night. I don't care if it's winter or not."

"I'm sure you know everything about vampires," she said darkly. "I've got somewhere I've got to be tonight."

"Yeah? And where's that? Don't tell me you are trying to hide from another vampire suitor." Keitaro just shook his head. "I already told you I can't help you with them, Anju."

"I'm not trying to hide," Anju said angrily. Keitaro suddenly got the feeling that she had had this argument with somebody else and was getting tired of people telling her what to do. He was right. Anju walked over to the balcony window and stared silently out at the moon for a moment, regaining her composure before continuing. "Mama told me last night that I have one month to find a male before they will force me to get married."

"That's a little harsh, isn't it?" Keitaro said, slightly surprised.

"I got in an argument with them and I made Mama and Papa mad," she replied, thinking back on it. "Even Big Sister is mad at me. They found out that I've been avoiding every last suitor for the past week."

"That can't really be that many. Can it?" Keitaro wondered. "How many suitors have you shot down already?"

Even though Keitaro was wondering why Anju had decided to tell him all of this, he was starting to understand the situation she was in. It was one thing for Anju to tell the vampire males, "no". But it was very disrespectful to not show up at all. Some of the vampires travel across countries just to ask for her hand in marriage. It was very dangerous for them to travel long distances, seeing as they could die in sunlight. After such long and hard travel, it would only be natural to get pissed off if the girl didn't even show up.

The problem was that he didn't know what to say to her to help her in this situation. He still wasn't on the best terms with her, which made it quite awkward to speak on such levels. But it was obvious that she was looking for somebody to give her hope. Or at the very least, give her some advice on what she should do.

"Listen… Anju," Keitaro said, choosing his words carefully. "I'm sure your family isn't going to just hand you over to another vampire clan. They're just a little upset that you haven't been trying to find someone..."

"I am trying," Anju said, cutting him off.

This really confused him. "You just said that you've been avoiding…"

"I've been dating humans," she said, cutting him off again.

"Wait… What?" He definitely was not expecting this. Anju really didn't seem like the kind of person to date humans. At first, Keitaro didn't know whether to laugh or believe her. The idea sounded crazy. But when Anju turned around to face him, he knew that she wasn't lying. It just made him curious. "Why humans? Don't you hate them?"

"Humans are interesting, Hunter," Anju replied in her stoic tone.

"You can't just date humans because you think they're interesting," Keitaro said. "You are a vampire."

"So is Big Sister."

"That's different! What are you going to do when they find out you aren't human?"

"I'll erase their memories," she replied. "Why can't I be with a human?"

"Because _YOU_ aren't human. Does anybody in your family know?"

"Only Boogie."

"So that's a no." He shook his head in disbelief. "Listen, I know you don't want anything to do with the other vampire clans. But if something was to happen and the humans were to find out about vampires... well you might piss off some people."

Anju was smart enough to know that he was talking about Cross Organization. Technically it was against the vampire code of honor for vampires to openly reveal themselves to humans simply because it hardly ever ended well. If they were to tell the wrong human, and word spread, some wouldn't take it so lightly. Then, Cross Organization would have their hands full trying to cover it up while making sure it doesn't happen again.

"I'm not going to make a mistake," Anju said. "Mama and Papa want me to find a suitor. That is what I'm doing."

"I'm sure they didn't mean a human suitor," Keitaro replied. "Why are you telling me all this anyways? What makes you think that I won't tell your family why you're sneaking out so early in the evenings?"

"You won't say anything, Hunter," Anju said calmly. "Because I didn't tell anyone about your problem."

Keitaro immediately fell silent.

"I didn't expect you to do anything about it, Hunter," she continued. She turned back around and opened up sliding door to the balcony. "I just wanted you to know."

After that, Anju walked out onto the balcony, shut the door, and disappeared into the night. Keitaro really didn't know how to respond. Did she really think that he would approve of her dating humans? The only reason she was doing it was so that her family would stop telling her to find a suitor. He didn't really think she understood what she was doing.

_Poor Anju,_ he thought, taking a seat on the edge of his bed. _You may be older than me, but you still have the mind of a child. Sometimes, I really wonder?_

What was worse was there was nothing he could say that would make her change her mind. She would continue to date whoever she wanted even if he tried to stop her. He might as well stay out of her way. But he was curious as to what had happened last night to make her family so angry with her. There was only one way to find out.

Even though it was extremely early in the night, Keitaro decided to get ready for later. Besides, he would be able to catch Kanon at work just before her shift ended and walk her home. That was all the motivation he needed.

It took him almost an hour to get ready to meet Elda. But he got a little carried away with himself and decided to go all out on the effects. He had an old suit that he had gotten from vampire hunting as well as a few other ancient trinkets. He also had a small spray bottle of diluted vampire's blood, which he sprayed underneath his coat. The problem was that being only half-vampire, his blood smelled different to vampires. With the vampire blood on him, he would hopefully be able to mask his own scent. But there was no way to tell by himself if it worked. To him, everyone had the same scent.

By the time he was finished getting ready and made it to Hina's Bakery, Kanon had already finished her shift and was closing up the shop for the night. When she saw him standing outside, dressed up in such elegant clothing, she immediately laughed at him.

"Surprised?" Keitaro wondered, smiling with her.

"I'm sorry," Kanon said, still laughing. "It's just that you look so funny. You look just like a vampire."

"I got a surprise for you." Just then, he made a whistling sound and held out his arm. Kanon didn't know what to expect when she small a large bat fly in from a nearby branch and land on his arm. Kanon was immediately impressed and smiled largely. "This is my Dad's pet bat. He is letting me borrow it for tonight."

"It's so cute," Kanon said, reaching up to pet it. She practically melted when the bat actually sat there and enjoyed the attention. "I didn't know your papa had pets."

Keitaro just smiled. "When I was little, I thought that maybe it was a gift from another vampire. Thinking back though, I think that the reason this little fellow was so obedient was because my father was a vampire."

After a few moments of allowing Kanon to pet the bat, he let it fly off. It was a very obedient pet and would stay near Keitaro. Only a vampire can control bats, so maybe he would be able to use it to trick Elda. After that, both Keitaro and Kanon, walking closely together, started towards the Maaka mansion. It seemed to take forever to get there. The entire time, Keitaro felt like he was on death row, and was heading for the electric chair. He didn't know why he felt so nervous. He had tricked many different vampires in the past. What made Elda any different?

"Hey, Kanon," Keitaro said, trying to break the awkward silence, "I've been meaning to ask you. Do you know what happened last night with Anju and your grandparents?"

"How did you know about that?"

"She came over this evening to help me get ready," he lied. "I was just wondering what happened."

"I don't really know," she said, truthfully. "I heard that Anju avoided a couple of the male vampires and now one of the vampire clans is mad at our family. Grandma and Grandpa tried to talk with Aunt Anju about it, but she walked out of the room on them. She's been running off a lot recently and nobody knows where she's going all the time."

_I wonder,_ he thought sarcastically to himself.

"Grandpa is talking about giving Anju away to the next vampire suitor if Anju doesn't find a boyfriend soon," Kanon continued.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that your family is being troubled again."

"It's okay. I really like Aunt Anju. I don't want to see her given away like that."

"I'll talk to her if you'd like," Keitaro said thoughtfully.

Kanon seemed pleased with that. "Could you? Thank you, Keitaro."

After that, things started to get quieter as they got closer to the Maaka barrier. What Kanon and Keitaro didn't know was that Elda was sitting on top of the roof waiting for the two of them to show up. She seemed extremely eager to meet this mysterious boyfriend of Kanon. Already, she knew that there was something that she wouldn't like about him. But the moment her bats saw the two of them, her eyes narrowed. It took only a moment for her to recognize the boy's face. A wicked grin formed on her mouth as she watched the half-vampires come closer. Tonight would be a fun night for her.


	26. Embarrassment 26

Embarrassment 26: Too Good to be True

* * *

Ever since Keitaro and Kanon had started dating, it was quite common for Keitaro to come to her home. He walked her home every night that he was with her and sometimes even came inside. It was a little awkward with the family at first, but nobody ever stopped them. Keitaro basically became one of their family after a while. That being said, as soon as the trees parted and Kanon could see the mansion sitting atop the hill, she started getting nervous. Something about this seemed like a bad idea.

"Keitaro," she muttered, slowing down a bit. "Is this really necessary?"

Keitaro couldn't help but laugh. "It's a little bit late to get cold feet now, ain't it? Don't worry about it. Soon your grandma will be back asleep and everything will be fine."

"Will it?" she wondered sadly. "I know Great Grandma is scary, but she is family. There is no way we could keep you a secret from her forever. Plus… I feel bad lying to her."

He thought about it for a moment before smiling. "You know, if anything happens tonight, we could always tell her the truth. Elda can't control you."

"Hehe… I know."

Kanon felt a little bit better now. But what neither of them were aware of was the fact that Elda already knew of their presence. They hadn't caught sight of her yet, but she had been sitting on top of the Maaka mansion waiting for Kanon to come home. When her bats saw the boy that was next to Kanon, she couldn't believe her eyes. It was the half-vampire from the alleyway. What surprised her even more was the fact that he was dressed up like a vampire. But she knew better. She had been around long enough to know the difference between a vampire and a half-blood.

Elda had expected something like this ever since she realized that everyone in the family was hesitant to tell her about Keitaro in the first place. This just confirmed everything and she couldn't be more proud of herself. But now she was starting to question what other secrets this little boy was hiding. It seemed a little odd that the whole family would just try to hide that he was a half-vampire. She wondered if there was something else. That's when a wicked grin crossed over her face.

_This puny half-blood won't remember me,_ she thought as she watched the boy come closer to her home, holding her dear granddaughter's hand. _I'll play along with him for now. At least until I can find out what he is really hiding from me._

With that thought in mind, Elda grabbed her umbrella and jumped off the roof, landing gently on the grass. It was then that Keitaro and Kanon saw her and Kanon jumped slightly. Keitaro on the other hand just starred Elda down in disbelief. She was yet another Maaka that looked exactly like Karin. What was strange was that he felt like he had met her before.

"Great grandma," Kanon said, surprised, "were you waiting for us up there?"

"Of course I wanted to see my dear granddaughter home safely," Elda said in her cheerful voice. She then turned and eyed Keitaro suspiciously. "So, you're the mysterious boy who's dating my sweet Kanon?"

Keitaro could feel his heart beating hard in his chest. If he didn't play this off well enough, Elda was surely to catch on. Taking a deep breath, he smiled and started his act.

"My name is Keitaro," he said calmly, reaching out his hand to shake hers. She didn't budge an inch and starred him down darkly. The feeling sent a shiver down Keitaro's spine and he quickly retracted his hand before continuing. "It is an honor to finally meet the most powerful of all vampires."

Elda didn't bother to hide the fact that she enjoyed the flattery. However, the smile quickly faded as she walked around the boy, checking him out. She couldn't help but notice that he was shaking slightly. Even Kanon could tell that he was gripping her hand just a bit tighter than normally. Keitaro was extremely clan.

"I've never seen you before," Elda commented. "What clan did you say you were with again?"

"My family is with the Hiyashi clan from northern Japan," Keitaro replied without skipping a beat.

Kanon finally stepped in before Elda could get a closer look at him. "Grandma, will you stop staring my boyfriend. You're starting to scare me."

"I'm just checking him out and making sure he's worthy of my dear Granddaughter," Elda said, smiling.

"Of course he is," Kanon said in his defense. "C'mon Grandma. It's really cold out here. Let's go inside."

Elda just sighed. "All right then."

Keitaro wanted to thank Kanon so much for getting Elda off of him for the moment. But as he entered the house, he started to worry how well he would be able to hold up this act. Elda kept an extremely close eye on him the entire time he was in the Maaka mansion. It was very unsettling, but he did his best to uphold vampire standards. Despite everything though, he was able to keep his secrets safe. The entire family even started believing that he was an actual vampire for a short while. This wasn't the first time he had been forced to disguise himself as a vampire to trick another. Elda constantly threw questions at him about his homeland and his clan, but he never faltered when answering.

Keitaro didn't stick around the Maaka mansion for very long, which was probably for the best. But it wasn't because he wanted to get away from Elda quickly. It was because his head was starting to hurt extremely badly. The last thing he needed was for him to lose it while he was around the Maaka's. He used the excuse that he needed to feed in order to get away from the family and left the room without another word. He didn't even motion for Kanon to follow him. She quickly got up and followed him to the door, knowing something was wrong. Keitaro seemed to be walking with a slight stumble, almost as if he didn't know where he was. When she caught up to him, she was shocked.

"Keitaro, what's wrong with you?" she wondered, seriously scared for him.

The problem was that Keitaro's eyes were literally glowing blood red, and he was sweating hard. Keitaro wanted to smile. Ensure her that everything was alright, but he couldn't with the pain. Instead, he opened up the front door of the mansion and stepped outside. He had to steady himself.

"I'm sorry, Kanon," he said, breathing heavily. "It looks like I forgot to feed again."

Kanon quickly looked over her shoulder, making sure none of the Maakas were watching from inside the house, before helping Keitaro steady himself. "Are you going to be alright?"

"I should be fine," he replied. "Do me a favor and tell your family I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly. I need to go find somebody before this gets bad."

"Just a second," she said quickly. "I'll come with you."

"No!" Keitaro said firmly. His change of voice slightly startled Kanon. "I'm sorry, Kanon. I just don't want you to see me in this state. It's quite embarrassing."

"Don't worry about it," she said, giving him a slight smile. She was still concerned about him. He didn't look like he would be able to make it. "Let me help you, Keitaro."

He just shook his head. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. You should stay with your family tonight."

After a few moments, Kanon gave a slight nod. There was no way she could argue with Keitaro. She hugged him tightly and said goodnight to him, then saw him to the Maaka barrier before heading back inside. She was slightly afraid, but knew that Keitaro would be alright come tomorrow morning.

When she opened up the door to the mansion, she was surprised to see her great grandma waiting just inside.

"Where did he go off so suddenly?" she wondered, looking over Kanon's shoulder towards the outside.

"Keitaro had something he had to go do," Kanon lied. "He said that he was sorry for leaving so suddenly."

"That boy is definitely something," she said thoughtfully.

"He's a really nice guy, Grandma," Kanon said quickly. "I wish you would trust him more."

"I'm just looking out for my grandchildren. Nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"I guess not."

With that, Kanon went past Elda into the kitchen to make some food. Elda didn't waste any time and opened up the door, heading out into the cold night. Keitaro may have done a good job posing as a normal vampire, but she wasn't about to be fooled. He almost pulled off everything too well, as if he had studied vampires before. Elda no longer cared that she knew he was a half-vampire. Now she was curious as to how he was so knowledgeable about vampires. She wanted to know the truth about him and was going to follow the boy until she found out.

* * *

Well, it's been quite a while since I've sat down and typed a chapter to this story. This month hasn't been too great for writting and coming back with such a short chapter may not be the best thing. I'm trying hard to get back on track and we'll see what happens over the next few weeks. Thanks for waiting though and I have some new plans as well as a ending finally thought out for the story. Anyways, Merry Christmas.


	27. Embarrassment 27

Embarrassment 27: The White Box

* * *

_"Keitaro, what are you doing here... There's blood everywhere."_

"Get out of my head," Keitaro muttered to himself, leaning on the side of a building.

Keitaro hadn't made it far from the Maaka barrier before he could barely take another step. The world seemed to be spinning around him and everything was starting to go blurry. What was worse was that every person that passed by him just irritated him more. The only thing he could think about was that day.

_What's wrong, Keitaro? _the familiar voice hissed at the back of his mind. _Are you losing control already?_

"Shut up!" Keitaro yelled angrily.

As much as he hated himself, he knew deep down that time was running extremely short. It took all of his strength not to bite the nearest person to him. His body was craving blood more than ever and no matter how much he drank, he still couldn't satisfy his urges. All these years of refusing blood had come back and bit him in the ass. Now the question was how much longer he would hold out. If he waited too long, his brain would surely snap and it would be over for him. But he still felt like it was too soon.

He was so preoccupied with holding back himself that he didn't notice Elda sitting on the roof just above him. It hadn't taken her that long to pick up his scent and track him down. The vampire blood that he had sprayed under his expensive clothing had dried up and was starting to dissipate. Elda could now smell the human blood that resided within him. It was a good thing. For a moment there, she started believing that she had made a mistake and Keitaro was actually a vampire. But now that she could pick up his actual scent, she knew the truth.

She wasn't really paying attention to his actions so she never picked up on the fact that he was in a lot of pain at the moment. It would have probably put a smile on her face. Instead, she was curious in seeing where he was going. She needed some clue to tell her more about this mysterious person. She just couldn't get off the fact that he may just be a normal half-vampire and might actually be worthy of her granddaughters hand.

Keitaro stayed on the side of that building for close to thirty minutes, just trying to regain his composure. He refused to drink blood. It wouldn't matter anyways. This wasn't his body thirsting for blood. This was his body starting to break down. He didn't dare move again until the world had stopped spinning and he could control his thoughts.

He had half a mind to just head home and try and get some sleep. He hadn't been able to sleep well for the past few nights anyways. Instead of heading for the hotel, though, he started walking off in a different direction. There wasn't really a plan behind it. He just needed to get some fresh air and let his body calm down completely. He still enjoyed the silence when he was alone. It gave his mind some time to rest and allowed him enough time to just think. But he hadn't gotten too many blocks before he heard somebody calling his name.

"Keitaro?" someone said from down the street. Turning around he realized that it was Kanon's friend, Nariko. She ran up to him and stopped to catch her breath. "I thought it was you. I've been meaning to get a hold of you."

The smell of blood from within her body started irritating Keitaro's senses again, but he held back any dark thoughts. She didn't have the blood that he liked anyways.

"What are you doing out here so late?" he wondered. "It's not exactly safe out at night."

The last thing he wanted was for Kanon's best friend to be the victim of some vampire. But she gave a gentle laugh and forced something into his hands. He hadn't noticed it at first, but Nariko had been carrying a small white box with her. It didn't take long for Keitaro to realize the box was his. His eyes narrowed and he immediately fell silent.

"You left this outside my house a couple of nights ago," Nariko said, smiling brightly. "I thought you might want it back."

"Thank… um… you didn't happen to open it did you?"

The smile slightly faded from Nariko's face. "I'm sorry. I just got a little curious… Hey, Keitaro, Kanon told me that you work for a bank. But that stuff in the box…"

"It's from a past life," Keitaro said quickly. "It's some stuff that used to belong to my father."

"That's good," she said, the smile slowly returning to her face. "For a moment there, I started to really wonder… Well, anyways, I can't stay outside for much longer. My mom said that I could only come outside to give this back to you. Tell Kanon I said 'hi'.

"I will," he replied, staring down at the box.

On top of the nearby building, Elda witnessed the entire conversation. She was now extremely curious as to what young Keitaro was hiding in the box. Even as Nariko left and headed home, Keitaro stared down at the box as if he were expecting it to explode. It was an extremely close call and he was lucky that Kanon's friend didn't question him more about it. He wasn't lying when he said it was part of a past life. A life that he had just recently left. He just hadn't told Kanon yet and decided it was best for her not to know. This was a decision he had made on his own.

Looking around, he saw a trash bin on the corner. He didn't waste any time and walked over, tossing the box in. He had no regrets leaving it behind and didn't hesitate to walk away. But Elda had different plans and wanted to know what was inside the box. She figured that it would give her a better idea of who he was.

She waited patiently for Keitaro to walk off and disappear around a corner before she sent a few of her bats down to the trash bin to retrieve the box. There wasn't anything special about the box; it was the same kind that you could get from any post office. However, when lifted the lid, she couldn't believe what she saw inside. A wicked grin crossed her lips as she rummaged the contents. She didn't need to see anymore. Everything suddenly made sense. Now she knew why Keitaro knew so much about vampires and was able to act like one.

"My dear Keitaro," Elda said, closing the lid and dropping the box on the roof, "you just made the stupidest mistake in your short life."

Nariko wasn't the only one that Keitaro happened to run into in the middle of the night. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but as he was on his way back to the hotel, he happened to bump into somebody.

"Sorry," he said, turning and bowing. That's when he realized who it was. "Tohru? What are you doing here?"

Tohru quickly scanned the rooftops before walking up to him and whispering in his ear, only loud enough for him to hear. "Watch your back, Keitaro. You're being followed."

Keitaro's eyes widened and he started to scan the nearby buildings, looking for somebody. "Who is it?"

But when he turned to face Tohru Maaka, he realized that he was alone. Tohru had just disappeared from his sight. It seemed extremely odd that he had just appeared so suddenly. But coming to tell him that somebody was watching him made him extremely nervous. He couldn't return to the hotel just yet. If the person following him was a threat, he would just be leading the person home.

Instead, Keitaro kept his head low and headed towards the forest. He was used to being hunted, being a vampire hunter. But this time he was unarmed. Even a trained hunter like himself wouldn't last two minutes in a fight with a vampire.

It didn't take long before the person who was following him revealed herself. She waited until he was well out of sight from anybody before floating down on a cloud of bats. Keitaro's eyes went wide with shock when he realized that it was none other than Elda Marker who had been following him. And with the five bats that were circling around her and the way she held her umbrella like a sword, ready to kill, he knew this wasn't a friendly meeting.

"How long have you been following…" he started.

He didn't have time to finish his statement before she was pointing her umbrella at him. He could sense the Malice in her blood. He still tried to remain calm.

"How dare you speak to me," she hissed at him, gripping her umbrella tightly. "For a moment there, I thought you were actually a nice boy. But now I know the truth… You filthy vampire hunter."

Keitaro's jaw dropped as Elda reached in her clothing and tossed an ID at Keitaro's feet. The same Cross Organization ID that had been inside the box he had just thrown away minutes ago. All he could do is stare blankly down at his picture on the front of the card, trying to think of something to say. He knew that she was following him ever since he left the Maaka mansion. She saw his uniform and weapons inside the box. Memento's to a life that he was trying to forget. Elda probably knew right off the bat from the insignia that was on his uniform that he was a vampire hunter. The ID just answered it all.

"Please…" Keitaro said, trying to get him out of a whole world of trouble, "I can explain myself."

"I said don't talk to me!" Elda ordered, taking a step towards him. Her bats still were flapping around her, and at a moment's notice, she could order them to attack the boy. Or worse, kill him. She had no clue that without a weapon, Keitaro was basically harmless. "I thought it was bad enough that you were a half-vampire. But you think I would let it pass that you are one of them?"

"I'm not a vampire hunter anymore," he tried to say in his defense. "You have it all wrong."

Elda wasn't listening and he was better off talking to the wall. The only reason she hadn't killed him already was that she was trying to think of what to do with him. She would have liked nothing more than to kill Keitaro now and be done with it. But the other part of her wanted to see him suffer. Elda really hated vampire hunters, and now she had one right where she wanted him. She felt ashamed of herself for not figuring it out sooner. She now knew why the family was so hesitant to tell her about him. But the fact that they were protecting the greatest enemy to vampires filled her even more with rage.

However, before she could ponder any more with what to do with the teenager, something happened that she did not expect. Keitaro dropped to his knees, holding his head in pain. It was happening again, and there was no need to question what was causing it. Elda just stared intently as his breathing went rapid and his eyes went dark red. The fangs that were in his mouth grew almost double in length and the world went black.

_She is going to kill you unless you do something,_ the familiar voice said in his head. _She is going to kill you and tell Kanon that it was an accident._

With that thought, Keitaro's mind went completely blank and he finally fell into darkness.


	28. Embarrassment 28

Embarrassment 28: Boxed In

* * *

Keitaro had started getting used to falling into darkness and then waking up having no clue what had just happened to him. It had been happening more and more lately. But this time, when Keitaro opened up his eye, he had to check his heart to see if he was still alive. This time he had really done it and he should be dead right now. All Keitaro could think about was what had just happened before he lost it.

The last thing Keitaro could remember was Elda confronting him. She had figured him out and was determined to take him out one way or another. That was when he finally snapped. He had already been having problems that night and the malice that Elda had must have been enough to make him snap. He would have actually laughed at the fact that it was a vampire who made him lose it, if it weren't for the fact that he was in quite a bad situation at the moment. To be honest, he actually didn't know where he was at the moment.

The first thing that he noticed when he opened his eyes was that he could barely move. Not only that, but it was pitch black. It only took a moment of feeling around to realize that he was inside a wooden box of some sort. The shape of the wooden box made it pretty clear what Elda had done to him. He was now in a coffin. At that moment, he really started to panic. First instinct was trying to push the lid off by force, but there seemed to be something heavy on the lid. Possibly six feet of dirt.

"Hello?" he said, trying to remain calm as he knocked on the lid of the box. "Hello? Somebody get me out of here!"

"I was wondering when you would wake up," a muffled voice said from outside the box. He immediately recognized it as Elda's. "I hope you like your new living conditions."

The fact that somebody had responded to him let him know he hadn't been buried alive… yet. In fact, the coffin that he was in was in the middle of an old abandoned house on the edge of town. Elda had put his body in there after knocking him out and was holding the lid down with two large boulders and one large chain. She waited patiently for almost thirty minutes for him to wake up just so she could hear him suffer.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" she said darkly, sitting on the lid of the coffin.

"Please, Ma'am," Keitaro said nervously, "you have to let me explain."

"Oh, and why should I do that?"

"Because I'm not the monster you think I am," he replied.

Elda just laughed at him. "First you attack me, then you try and tell me you aren't bad. Tell me, little boy, how many secrets are you hiding from the rest of my family? Do they know that you are a vampire hunter? Or how about the fact that you are a feral half-vampire?"

"I don't lie to them," Keitaro said angrily.

"Really? Because you were so quick to lie to me."

"Look, I'm sorry," he said, still really nervous. "I can't tell you how sorry I am. I didn't expect this to happen."

Elda could hear the fear in his voice at the moment, and she couldn't be more pleased. Ever since she was a little girl, she had been wary of vampire hunters. The only thing she knew about them was that they were bad. Now, she had a vampire hunter in her clutches and she could do anything she wanted with him. Deep down, she felt like this was payback for all the torture they had put her through in the past.

The truth was that nothing Keitaro could say would make her change her mind. He was everything that she hated and it didn't matter how close he was to her family. The family didn't need to know what she was doing with him. And after Keitaro temporarily lost it and tried to attack her, she couldn't allow him anywhere near Kanon. He was too much of a danger to her even if he didn't know it yet. The moment Keitaro bared his fangs to her, he tried attacking her full force. It took her almost five minutes before her bats could knock him out.

"I just have one question, little vampire hunter," she said. "How did my dear granddaughter survive after the elder house?"

Keitaro didn't really feel like telling stories in his current situation. But taking a deep breath he replied, "I gave her my blood so that she could survive. The only reason your granddaughter is still breathing is because I have put my heart and soul into protecting her."

"Then that must be why…" she replied thoughtfully. She stood up and stretched, looking out one of the windows. "Look at the time. I need to get home."

"Don't leave me in here!" Keitaro yelled, banging on the lid. "Please, you can't do this to me!"

"Oh and why not?"

"You have no reason to do this!" he argued. "I told you I'm sorry for attacking you. But you have to trust me here. Please, I'm begging you."

Elda just grinned evilly. "You should be happy, Hunter. Be happy that I'm not killing you right now. Be happy that I don't go to your sweet girlfriend and tell her that you are dead. I'm doing you a favor. At least here, you won't be a danger to my family."

"I would never hurt Kanon!" he continued. "You think you know what's good for her! But you don't even bother to ask her! That's why you deny she's a half-vampire!"

"Be quiet, you filthy half-blood!" she finally said, cutting him off. "I know what's best for my family! You… you're just lost boy who can't even control his urges!"

"You're wrong!" Keitaro said, slamming his fist on the coffin.

That was that. Elda left Keitaro in that coffin to rot away. She had no intentions of ever freeing him and doubted that anybody would ever hear him. The house was too far away from the public's eyes and the chance for somebody to be near enough to hear him was highly unlikely. But as Elda flew off into the night sky, she couldn't feel proud for what she did. She had just done the thing that she had always wanted to do. She had taken out her revenge on a vampire hunter. So why couldn't she be happier?

_"The only reason your granddaughter is still breathing is because I have put my heart and soul into protecting her."_

Those words seemed to ring in her ears. She could tell that Kanon was truly in love with this vampire hunter and would most likely cry when she finds out he isn't around anymore. Elda wasn't proud of hurting her Granddaughter, but it needed to be done. She had seen the rage in Keitaro's eyes tonight and if she had let him go he wouldn't last much longer.

_Why am I trying to sympathize with him?_ she thought angrily to herself as she floated over the forest, nearing the Maaka mansion. _He's just a pathetic vampire hunter. He deserves nothing better than death._

By the time she made it back to the mansion it was nearing almost two in the morning. She opened the door just in time to see Kanon heading up the stairs to get ready for bed. It wasn't exactly the person she wanted to run into right now and she had to force a smile while hiding the fact that she just took out Kanon's boyfriend.

"Great Grandma?" Kanon said, turning around at the top of the stairs. "Where did you go tonight?"

Elda was quick to come up with a lie. "You're grandfather wanted me to go looking for Anju. She ran off from another suitor tonight."

"Oh," she replied. "You didn't happen to run into Keitaro out there, did you?"

The question sort of startled her. "Your boyfriend? No, I didn't. Why do you ask?"

"It's nothing," Kanon said, seeming slightly disappointed. "He left so quickly that I was a little worried about him. I tried to call him and he didn't pick up."

_Of course he wouldn't pick up, _Elda thought to herself. _I took away that monsters phone right after I knocked him out._

"I don't think you should worry about him," she said, trying to reassure her granddaughter. It was hard when she knew exactly where Keitaro was. "He looks like he can handle himself. What about that other vampire? What's his name again?"

"Takeshi?"

"That's the one. Why don't you see that boy more?"

Kanon blushed slightly. After all, when Elda had first awoken, she thought that Kanon was dating Takeshi.

"I'm supposed to be meeting him tomorrow night," she said.

Just then, Elda's dark red eyes lit up with excitement. "Really? Well, I hope you have a good time with him. I'm heading down to bed now."

"Good night, Grandma."

"Good night, Kanon."

Elda was quick to get away from her granddaughter before any more questions could come up. But now she had an idea. If she could get Kanon and Takeshi together, then maybe Kanon wouldn't take Keitaro being gone so hard. Besides, at least Takeshi was an actual vampire. It didn't matter anyways. Keitaro wouldn't last long in his new home. She made sure that the lid was airtight and it would only be a few hours before the air would be unbreathable.

The problem was, even Keitaro knew his time was short. From the moment that Elda had left him for dead, he had been pounding on the sides of the coffin, looking for an escape. It was no use, the wood was too thick and the lid was sealed perfectly. The only thing he was doing was hurting his hands now. His right hand was already bloody and swollen from hitting the walls of his coffin. He was unable to see it, but that may have been for the better.

"I was so stupid," he said softly to himself. "I should have been more careful."

But he knew that it was impossible. The fact was he knew he would only last a few more days before he completely lost his mind. Even now, he could hear the dark voices in his head. He belonged in a box, far away from society. Maybe this was for the better, but this wasn't the way he wanted it to end. If he died now, he would never have the chance to tell Kanon what he wanted to.

Keitaro lay in the box for what seemed like hours. At this point, he wondered why he wasn't in tears. There was no brightness in his future, but his only regret was that he couldn't find a cure. He figured that this was the end. But before the sun ever rose over the forest in Tokyo he heard somebody outside the coffin. There was a sound of something getting pushed off the coffin as well as a rattle of the chains. Keitaro held his breath as the lid slowly opened. But he couldn't have been more surprised by who his savoir was.

* * *

Yet another cliffhanger but no surprises there. This chapter was very hard to write fluently and sorry if you were hoping for an epic fight between Elda and feral Keitaro. There is a method to my madness and I'm not ready to show Keitaro's dark side just yet.


	29. Embarrassment 29

Embarrassment 29: Holding on

* * *

"For a vampire hunter, you sure are pathetic," the mysterious savior said pushing off the lid to the coffin.

It took a few moments for what little light was in the room to flood Keitaro's eyes so that he could see. But for a moment, he thought he had gone crazy. The person had saved him was none other than Tohru Maaka, and right now, he was pointing a gun right at Keitaro's face.

"Why are you aiming at me?" he wondered, steadily.

"Just protecting myself, Keitaro," Tohru said. The way he gripped the pistol told Keitaro that this wasn't the first weapon he had ever wielded. With his other hand, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metal flask and tossed it on top of Keitaro, who was still laying deadly still in the coffin. "I think you better drink this."

Cautiously, Keitaro sat up in the coffin and grabbed hold of the flask. On any normal day, he wouldn't have taken too kindly to somebody pointing a weapon at him. But what did he have to lose now. The metal flask that Tohru had tossed him seemed rather old and had a picture of a bat flying in front of some round object, likely a moon. The moment Keitaro opened the flask, he knew what the contents were. The smell would never miss his nose.

"This is blood," he said, stating the obvious. He closed the lid and attempted to hand it back to Tohru. "I'm sorry. I'm not that thirsty."

"Don't lie to yourself, Keitaro," Tohru said, gripping the handle of the gun tightly. "In your state, you don't have much of a choice."

This was a side of Tohru that Keitaro had never seen before. Granted, he never knew much about this one Maaka, but it still caught him off guard. Sighing, he opened the flask again and took a quick swig of the cool blood. It was disgusting. It wasn't even the type of blood Keitaro liked, though he doubted he would enjoy it even if it were. But he couldn't help but notice how much the blood took away the pain in his head. He felt like a man who lost in the desert, without a single drink for days. This blood that Tohru had given him was refreshing in a way. Tohru at least lowered the weapon and gave a smug smile.

"You might as well face it, Hunter," he said, snatching the flask from Keitaro's hands and taking a swig himself, before putting it in his pocket. "You might as well start drinking blood daily. It may not save your life, but it might help extend it for a few more days."

"And why would I want to do that?" Keitaro said softly, staring down at his bruised hand. "Either way, it's over."

"Tch, I swear, you're just as sad as Kanon is. I saved your life. How about a thank you?"

Yes. A thank you probably would have been the best thing for Keitaro to say at a moment like this. But when he turned to look Tohru in the eyes, those weren't the first words that left his lips. It wasn't even on his mind at the moment.

"Who are you?" he muttered.

Tohru just looked at him with that smug smile. "What?"

"Why did you save me?" Keitaro continued. "How did you even know I was here? Why were you following me tonight?"

The questions kept pouring out of his mouth. He had so many things that he wanted to know right now. He could tell that Tohru Maaka was not the vampire that everyone thought he was. He may look and walk like Ren Maaka but now Keitaro could see it was all just a cover. This person, this person right in front of him, was not the same person that he met before. But to all his questions, Tohru was reluctant to answer.

"I saved you because it's my job, Hunter," he said, walking to the far end of the empty room and leaning on the wall. "What more matters than that? I have been following you for a while, Keitaro, as well as the rest of my family. I know you are having problems going feral and I know that you are keeping it a secret from Kanon. But, I also know that you are a good person and, though a little stupid, worthy of joining the family."

That wasn't exactly the answer he had expected Tohru to give, and frankly, he was the first person in the Maaka family to accept him.

"Why would you care about me?" Keitaro said. "I'm not part of your family."

"But you are helping my family. As far as I'm concerned, you are part of my family now." He paused. "Besides, you are helping me out as well so it's only fair that I return the favor."

"How am I…"

"That is the question, isn't it?" Tohru said. He had quickly regained his smug composure and stood up, dusting off his nice suit. "You think I would tell you everything about myself, Keitaro? You really are stupid then. No… we all have secrets, and telling you all of mine would just be stupid."

Keitaro actually had to smile there. He kind of liked Tohru's mysterious attitude, even though it came with a heap load of pride. But he was now even more curious as to the teenager that truly was Tohru Maaka.

"I guess I do owe you one," Keitaro said, standing up and stretching. Sitting in the wooden coffin for so many hours was killer on his back. "But I wish you could have warned me sooner that Elda was following me."

"Actually, I never knew that Great Grandma was following you," Tohru replied.

This really confused him. "But… Earlier… In the street."

"Believe me, I wasn't paying attention to what Grandma was up to," Tohru continued. "The person I was mentioning was another man. He's been tailing you for a couple of days now. He doesn't smell like a vampire…well…not completely."

"What are you saying?" Keitaro wondered. "Are you saying a half-vampire has been watching me?"

He couldn't believe that yet another person had been following him. What surprised him even more was that so many people had been able to track him without him ever knowing of their presence. Even with the fact that he has been distracted lately, he still was ashamed of himself.

"I really don't know who the person is, and I really don't care," Tohru replied. "I just thought I would warn you. You're a vampire hunter. I'm not about to approach a person I don't know."

"I'm not a vampire hunter anymore," Keitaro immediately said. "I quit the moment I got back from the states."

"Just because you refuse to wear the uniform, doesn't mean you aren't a vampire hunter, Keitaro. You think it matters to anyone else? Do you think it mattered to Great Grandma? By the way, nice job making her mad tonight."

"That…was an accident."

Tohru laughed. "No, that was you failing to control yourself."

"What would you know about me?" Keitaro said softly, though he was losing his temper.

"Enough to know that you went feral long before you ever came back to Japan. But somehow, you still have some control over your actions. Any other half-vampire would have snapped under the pressure. But not you. You continue to fight your urges even though you know it's only a matter of time."

"Is that why you gave me that blood?" Keitaro said angrily.

"I know that it was what your body is craving," he replied calmly. "And if it will keep you alive for just a few days longer, then all the better."

"I'm not your damn lab rat, Tohru," he replied. The stress was starting to get to him again. "You saw what I became back there. You would have been better off shooting me now and getting it over with."

"Will you stop trying to play the hero," Tohru said. "You may not let others know it, but you are terrified of dyeing, Keitaro. That's the perk to having a blood affinity of fear. I could smell the fear through the coffin. You aren't ready to die yet and I know it. So cut the charade. If I wanted you dead, I would have left you in there."

He had a point, but still, Keitaro wasn't totally convinced. "Then what do you want from me?"

"Tch, have you been listening? I told you, it's my job to protect you, Keitaro. If you want to die so badly, fine. I won't stop you. But you should tie up those loose ends first."

He still didn't understand. "What do you mean?"

"For starters, why don't you finally tell my cousin what is really happening. She's the whole reason you've been holding on this long, isn't it? Yet, she has no clue what is happening to you because you can't be a man and tell her."

"She's better off not knowing."

"Is that what you think? She loves you, Keitaro. You owe her enough to at least tell her the truth. What do you think will happen when you finally do go feral and disappear from her life forever?" He paused and walked over to the window and climbed out on the window seal before turning back around. "You think that if you die, everything will be all better? But what you fail to notice is that there are some people that need you. My cousin is one of those people. If you have nothing to hold on to, then hold on for her. Cause I can promise you that she would do the same for you."

It hadn't been the most friendly of talks but Tohru left without giving Keitaro a chance to say anything else. It might have been because he didn't like the way this turned. He may have had a reason for saving Keitaro. But as angry as he was, he knew that what he had said would stick in Keitaro's mind for a while. Because Keitaro didn't leave the old house for quite some time later. Not even Tohru knew what was going on in his mind.

* * *

This has got to be the longest chat scene I have ever written and I couldn't have had more fun writting it. That makes two chapters for today. Can't wait to see the reviews on this one.


	30. Embarrassment 30

Embarrassment 30: Plans

* * *

"Do you really have to leave already?" a young man asked Anju as they neared the edge of the park.

"It's getting late," Anju said in her signature stoic tone.

"Why don't you come home with me, then? I wouldn't mind if you stayed at my place."

He was trying to be nice but she turned her back to him and continued to walk out of the park. "I'm not interested."

"Can I at least walk you home then?" he asked hopefully.

Finally Anju stopped and kept her back to him. This human was getting to close to her for comfort. Up her sleeve, she gripped tightly onto one of her bats. She was tempted to attack him and get away now. But her hand was steady.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, still not looking him in the face. "I need to go."

She started to walk off again, hoping that this was the end of it. She expected the human to leave and give up on her like the others. However, he stopped her again.

"Will I see you again tomorrow?" he asked.

Anju was startled. This was the first time that somebody had said something like this to her and she wasn't ready for it. All she could do was silently nod before continuing off towards her home. She just happened to look over her shoulder to make sure that he wasn't following her. He seemed a little down but never took a step towards her.

Though she didn't show any emotion, her mind was running wild the whole way home. Tonight had been different than any other night so far. Ever since she had come up with the idea to date humans, she had been going through them left and right. It was a different thing for her. Usually Anju kept herself well inside the shadows and only made herself known to the people that she was about to feed on. She found out quickly that it was completely different trying to get to know them.

She had expected it to be easy to find a human. So many men fell for her just because of her stunning beauty and petite form. She didn't realize it, but in a human's eyes, she was quite desirable. But as soon as they started to find her out they left immediately. She couldn't allow any of them to get close enough to her to figure her out. So the distance she put between herself and them made most of them lose interest quickly. Not only that, but the fact that she lived in the realm of night made it hard for them to stick around her.

Truth was, Anju had already been turned down by over ten guys in just one week. She was starting to realize that going out with a human might be next to impossible for a vampire like her. Not only that, but what Keitaro had said to her earlier tonight had been ringing in her ears the entire night. She had been hoping that he might have been able to give her some advice and the only thing that he said was basically she was stupid for dating humans.

But this night had turned out slightly different. This human here seemed so eager to get with her despite the barrier she placed between the two of them. She didn't understand what was different but for some reason this human stayed with her the entire night and even asked her if they could meet again. Finally things were starting to go her way.

Once Anju was well out of sight from any passing humans, she conjured up her bats and took off to the Maaka mansion just before the sun rose over the city. She still had the argument with her parents last night fresh in her mind and since she had dodged another vampire suitor again tonight, it was a smart idea to avoid the family all together. Instead of heading in the front door, she had her bats carry her up to her bedroom on the second floor. Her dolls greeted her when she entered the room and closed the window softly.

_"Bout time you came home, Girly,"_ Boogey said from his chair as she quietly crossed the room to the closet. _"I was starting to get worried about you."_

"I'm fine, Boogey," Anju said softly. She quickly changed out of her gothic dress into something more comfortable for sleeping. The entire time she tried to act like she didn't care, but curiosity took over. "Boogey, did you happen to hear any news while I was out?"

_"Oh, you mean while I'm trapped upstairs in this room?"_ he teased. _"I thought I heard that hunter, Keitaro here early tonight. I don't think he stayed long though."_

"I went to see the hunter earlier tonight," she told him. "He doesn't think I should be dating humans."

_"What did you expect from a vampire hunter?"_ Boogey wondered. _"Why would you go tell him anyways? What did you expect him to do?"_

She didn't respond but went over to the window and stared out at the surrounding trees. She really didn't know why she decided to tell him. It wasn't like she liked him or cared about his opinion. But so far, anytime Anju had something on her mind, Keitaro seemed like the first person she would tell. It may have been because he was the only person outside of her family that she could actually trust.

Boogey just sighed. Whenever Anju wasn't careful, her thoughts would wander and he could hear them. _"God, Girly. You should just date Keitaro if you like him so much."_

He was about to laugh when the window in front of Anju started to crack. She definitely didn't find his comment funny in the slightest and he was lucky she didn't destroy him. Anju didn't even want to think of ever dating somebody like Keitaro. The only reason she didn't want to kill him was because he protected Kanon.

"If Keitaro is right," she said in a calm voice, trying to ignore his last comment, "then I really have no hope dating those humans."

_"It's either them or you get handed over to the vampires."_

That was something that Anju would not allow to happen. She wasn't some object of desire for the vampires. And it wasn't her fault that they were dying out. Deep down, she really couldn't care if vampires went extinct. As long as her family was alright, nothing else mattered. So if her family thought that they could hand her away to another vampire clan, she would stop them. But she knew just as well as everyone else that the only way she could avoid it was if she found a human suitor. Though she sort of failed there as well. She couldn't get comfortable around the humans without wiping there memories when it was all over. And if she had a shot a getting together with this boy tonight she needed somebody's help. At least somebody who knew humans. Only person like that was Keitaro. Angry with herself for needing to ask him she quickly lifted the lid of her coffin and crawled inside. She decided she would visit him in a few days.

A few days may have been the best thing too, because Keitaro had enough on his plate at the moment. The morning sun was finally starting to rise over Tokyo and the vampire hunter was still inside the abandoned house. He had been there for almost three hours now just thinking about what Tohru had said to him. Tohru may have been a little strange, but his advice was no different than the advice Anju had given him not too long ago. Both of them wanted Keitaro to tell Kanon the truth, but he still couldn't find it in himself to say anything.

He just couldn't see himself going up to Kanon and telling her that he was going to go feral in a few days. No… he was already feral. Even Tohru knew it, and he was right. Any other half-vampire would have snapped under the pressure that he had been through. But he still managed to cling on to what little sanity he had left. But even now, he could feel it slipping through the cracks.

Keitaro looked up across the room to the window where Tohru had left through. He had left the pistol on the ledge, knowing that Keitaro would see it. It didn't take him long to notice that the gun belonged to the vampire hunter in the first place. Tohru must have picked it up on the rooftop and kept it for personal protection. Keitaro slowly walked over and picked it up, gripping it firmly in his hand.

That's when he saw a way out. Keitaro had made a promise. A promise that when he lost all hope, he would be the one to take care of the problem. This gun was no more than an easy exit to his problems. And with Elda knowing who he was now, it made the decision so much easier to make. Just a squeeze of the trigger.

Keitaro thought hard about it, pondering the pros and cons out in his head. But no matter how badly he hated himself and wanted dearly for the pain to end, he just couldn't do it. Instead, he put the weapon in his white jacket.

_Soon,_ Keitaro thought sadly to himself as he stared out at the rising sun, _this will be how it ends. I know that now. But I don't want to lose hope just yet. I know it may be crazy, but just maybe… a miracle will happen. Kanon doesn't need to know what is going on, because it doesn't matter. When I lose that hope, I promise I will tell her the truth._

It wasn't much to go on, but it gave a slight ray of light to Keitaro's darkness. He didn't care if he was lying to himself or not. Tohru was right though. If he killed himself now, it would cause more damage than good. At least for now, he would hold on. When the time came, he would be back here to finally end it.

* * *

Not so much of a fan of this chapter because it's poorly written but whatever. Not every chapter can be great. Anyways I just looked back over the story and the past five chapters have all taken place within one day of the story. Never really expected that to happen but it did. So now I have a plan. No matter what, this month I will finish Last Hope. I will have a lot of free time this month so I want to finally put an end to the story. There will be a lot of chapter posts and I promise I won't rush anything but I really do hope to have a solid conclusion to the story. So rejoice, you will no longer have to wait long for chapter updates. Expect them almost daily again and Please R&R


	31. Embarrassment 31

Embarrassment 31: Setting the Stage

* * *

It had been almost three months since Keitaro had gotten a full sleep. It may have been partially because he was physically exhausted, but the moment he finally made it back to the hotel and pulled the blinds tightly closed on his windows, he was out like a light. He actually couldn't remember ever lying down in the bed. However, this didn't change the fact that he knew he was going to have quite a few problems that he would have to deal with over the next few days. The biggest thing that had been on his mind as he dragged himself home was what he was going to do about Elda Marker.

He decided that he would still go through with the plan and spend as much time with Kanon every day until he physically couldn't anymore. When that time came, he would finally tell her the truth and leave to a secluded place. What happened after that was scary. But Elda Marker was going to be a problem now. She knew who he was and as far as she knew, right now Keitaro was still trapped inside the coffin in the old abandoned house. She may not say anything to the rest of her family, but there was no way she would take kindly to Keitaro if she saw him again. Not only that but if he even attempted to retaliate in a violent manor, even if it was to defend himself, it would only give her another reason to kill him quicker.

Keitaro would have to confront her first. Sneaking around her was pointless and telling any of the other Maakas what had happened to him last night would just bring up problems. He had to do this if he wanted to get anywhere near Kanon, though he had no idea how he would be able to pull this one off.

In fact, at the Maaka mansion, Elda was sitting in the family room already contemplating on how to make Kanon forget about Keitaro. She truly did think that there was no way he would ever break out of that coffin. And in a few more hours, would probably die of suffocation. But it wouldn't be long before Kanon would start to question what had happened to him. She almost felt bad for what she did. She could tell that Kanon and Keitaro were extremely close just by the way her great granddaughter spoke about him. But as far as she was concerned, a vampire hunter was too dangerous to be kept alive. Not only that, but little Keitaro was on the verge of going feral. Getting rid of him now was for the greater good. Elda had been around long enough to see the destruction half-vampires could create alone.

_I'm sorry, Kanon,_ she thought as she stared up at the painfully dull ceiling. _But you will thank me one day. That boy is nothing but trouble._ _But what about that other boy, Takeshi? He may not be much. But he's better than a vampire hunter, and I know he was hitting on my dear Kanon last time. All I have to do is give Kanon a push in the right direction._

It may seem evil thinking about plans of her great granddaughter, but she didn't care. In her eyes, if she could get the two of them together, Kanon would forget about Keitaro. Then, she could come in after a few days and tell her that the half-blood ran away. Plus, if this Takeshi boy wasn't the man she thought he was, she could easily take him out of the picture.

With that thought in mind, Elda got out of the recliner, stretched and headed for her coffin within the dark confines of the basement. A few hours later, when Kanon awoke for the day, she had no clue that her grandmother had plans for her. The day started off just as normal as it always did. However, the first thing Kanon happened to do when she woke up was reach for her phone and check her messages. She had sent Keitaro a text last night telling him that she was meeting somebody tonight so she wouldn't be seeing him. She had also asked if he was doing okay and that she was extremely worried about him after he left in such a hurry last night. However, her message box was empty and there weren't any missed calls either.

"I hope he's feeling better today," she said softly to herself as she closed the phone and put it back on the dresser, before heading to the shower.

Kanon took her time today to take a hot shower, brush her long purple hair, and change into her work uniform before heading downstairs to make some breakfast. For some reason, she seemed extremely excited to meet Takeshi. Now that the awkward first meeting was over, she had started to warm up to him. Granted, the vampire was obviously trying to hit on her some times, but she still thought of it more as a cute gesture rather than wrong. Nothing against Keitaro, but he was always so serious, so Kanon wasn't used to the charm that Takeshi displayed.

"I'm going now!" Kanon yelled to the dark house before leaving and heading down the path and out the barrier.

Overhead, there was a bat following closely. It was one of Elda's bats and she was determined to be keep an eye on Kanon the entire day. She didn't have to worry about keeping the distance. Her granddaughter hardly ever noticed what was going on around her the entire day. She still found that her Kanon's life was completely pointless and despised the fact that she spent so much time around other humans. It was because Kanon felt so safe around them, that she would natural find it safe to date a vampire hunter. All Elda saw was vessels of blood. Other than that, humans were weaklings.

Like most days, nothing extremely interesting happened with Kanon the entire day at work. She did like the fact that her best friend Nariko stopped by during lunch with two bentos and asked if Kanon would join her for lunch. She said that her school was getting ready for the Christmas festival and she had been let go for the day.

"I almost forgot that it's almost Christmas," Kanon said, quickly looking over at the calendar that hung above the cash register.

"How could you forget about Christmas?" Nariko wondered. "It's one of the most important days of the year."

"Well…" Kanon said, twiddling her fingers, "I've been really busy lately."

Nariko just shook her head. "Let me guess. You still haven't gotten your boyfriend a present."

"ehehe."

"Kanon! You haven't even gotten him something? What kind of girlfriend are you?"

Kanon went a deep shade of red. "It's n-not like I-I don't want to get him something. I just don't know what to get him."

"Well you only have two weeks to figure that out," she replied brightly. "Otherwise, some other girl might just snatch him up."

"Uh…" Kanon said, going wide-eyed. "You don't really think something like that would happen do you?"

"Keitaro is a really handsome guy," Nariko said, blushing slightly herself as she thought back to last night. "I bet there are loads of girls that would want to date him."

At this point, Kanon burst out laughing. The idea of Keitaro seeing other girls just didn't seem likely. He just wasn't the kind of person that spent time around a lot of other people. But deep down, Kanon started to get slightly jealous.

"I tell you what," Nariko thought. "Why don't you bring Keitaro to the Christmas festival next week? I'm sure he would really enjoy that."

The Christmas festival was exactly one week before Christmas day and was a very big event. A lot of people would be there. Not only that, but Kanon had yet to go somewhere special with Keitaro and had been dreaming about it for months. She really thought that he would enjoy it. So Kanon smiled and nodded quickly.

"I'll have to go buy him a present this weekend though," she added.

"Not a problem," her friend beamed. "If my mom lets me, we can take the bus into town together on Saturday."

So it was set. In two days, Kanon and Nariko would spend the entire day together. This put Kanon in an extremely good mood for the rest of the day. She finished the bento Nariko made for her and thanked her for the food before returning to work in a much happier mood than before. Even Hina noticed how cheerful of a mood Kanon was in.

Kanon remained at work just as late as usual and even helped Hina close up shop. As she was sweeping up the back room, she got an unsuspecting call. She really expected it to be Keitaro calling her. Instead, it was Takeshi, saying that he had just made it to town and would be in the park waiting for her. She did catch the fact that he threw in a couple of cheap lines as well. Still trying to hit on her. If Keitaro knew the things that he said, she bet that Keitaro would run him out of the city himself.

It did seem a bit odd that Keitaro didn't even stop by her shop while she was closing up. It seemed like what he would do around now. She suspected that he got her text and was going to spend the night alone. But truth was, Keitaro never did and never would get the message. Elda had made sure to take away Keitaro's phone and toss it the forest before putting his unconscious body inside the coffin.

In reality, the only reason that Keitaro didn't show up at Kanon's work was that he was still passed out at the hotel. He had been sleeping for almost twelve straight hours without a single dream, which may have been for the better. Especially since one of the reasons that he hadn't been getting much sleep was because his mind kept wandering back to his past. It seemed odd but as much as he tried to avoid the day that he awoke as a half-vampire, it was all he could ever think of now.

It wasn't long before Keitaro finally woke up. For the first time, he didn't have an extremely bad headache but he could already feel the thirst for blood. As much as he wanted to deny it, Tohru was right. If Keitaro wanted to extend his life as much as possible, he was going to have to drink blood regularly, like a normal vampire. The idea didn't exactly make him smile.

It took the teenager a few moments to remember what had happened the night before. It all almost seemed like a dream to him. But now all he could think about was going to see Kanon. Looking over at the bedside clock, he knew that she would be getting out of work. He would have to go looking for her, which wouldn't be hard. At the same time, he needed to keep an eye out for both Elda and the mysterious half-vampire who had supposedly been following him around. He just hoped it wasn't for blood sport. He quickly got changed into a pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt. He then forced down a few swigs of the chilled blood that he kept inside the fridge and poured some into a bottle before pocketing it. He still tried to act like it was disgusting medicine, denying the fact that he actually found the cool blood quite tasty and worth drinking. It was definitely better than the food that had tasted like ashes inside of his mouth.

As Keitaro was putting on his winter jacket, he happened to notice the pistol that was on the table. He had tossed it to the side this morning just before going to bed. However, he still didn't really know why he was keeping the weapon in the first place.

_"Just because you refuse to wear the uniform, doesn't mean you aren't a vampire hunter, Keitaro,"_ Tohru had told him last night.

Sighing, he quickly grabbed the weapon and stuffed it inside his jacket. He felt safer with it on him anyways, but this didn't mean he saw himself as a vampire hunter anymore. He was happy now that he wasn't bound to that job anymore. He thought that he looked better in normal clothing anyways, rather than the cross organization uniform.

He really had no clue where he was going to find Kanon at. He doubted that she would have headed home already. She always found something to do. However he didn't worry. He always managed to find her quickly and easily and thought that maybe it be best to surprise her. What he didn't know was that Kanon was in the middle of the park with another person and did not expect Keitaro to show up tonight.

* * *

Sorry about posting twice. Something happened at the last moment and had to repost. LOL. Anyways, enjoy.


	32. Embarrassment 32

Embarrassment 32: The Second Meeting

* * *

Ever since Kanon's first meeting with Takeshi, she had started to fully trust him. He was a bit strange for a vampire and acted nothing like Kanon thought how a proper vampire should act. Instead he acted more like your average young adult. She really wondered how old he was, but he refused to tell her.

By the time she had finally made it to the park, Takeshi had been waiting for almost twenty minutes. What she wasn't expecting was for him to surprise her with a bouquet of roses.

"You really didn't have to," Kanon said, going a deep shade of red.

"Well, I couldn't get you a bottle of blood," Takeshi said kindly. "I thought these would be more suiting."

"I don't need a present," she said.

"It's customary for a vampire to give a gift," he added.

"Oh," she said, immediately staring down at her shoes. "I'm sorry, Takeshi. I don't have anything to offer you."

Takeshi just gave her a gentle smile and rubbed her head. "All I want from you is to see your pretty face. That's enough of a present for me."

She couldn't help but smile again. She was happy to have a friend who was a vampire. Since she was a daughter of both the world of humans and the world of vampires, she liked the idea of knowing people on both sides. Plus, once Keitaro decides to go back to work, she will only get to see him once or twice a week again. She needed some other friends.

"Umm…" Kanon said, shivering slightly. "Do you want to go somewhere? It's way too cold to just sit out here?"

"I really don't know this part of Tokyo," he replied honestly. He didn't seem at all fazed by the cold. "Where did you have in mind?"

"Well," she said thoughtfully, "I haven't had anything to eat since lunch and I'm kind of hungry. We could go eat…. Oh… I'm sorry."

She had completely forgotten that vampires had no taste for human food, so having Takeshi come with her while she ate might seem kind of rude. However, he nodded.

"I'll pay," he said, firmly.

"No, no, no, you don't have to do that," she said, waving her hands in front of her. "I have some extra money."

"Honestly, Kanon, it's okay," he said, stopping her. "I really don't mind. You need to save your money for other things. I've got the food covered."

He would not take no for an answer, so Kanon just decided to pick somewhere cheap. She really just didn't feel like staying out in the cold. With that, the two of them left the park together and headed into the city. What neither of them paid any attention to was the two bats that were flying overhead. One of the bats stayed close by and was that of Kanon's mother, Karin. However the other bat was that of Elda. She was keeping a close eye on the two of them and making sure everything went as planned.

As far as she knew, Keitaro was probably dead by now. She needed to make sure Kanon was kept distracted for long enough. Of course she knew that there would be tears. Kanon was just as emotional as her mother was. Elda blamed it on the human world and said it influenced them way too much. But it seemed that Takeshi was making this much easier on her. It was obvious that he wanted more than just to be friends with Kanon. And the fact that Kanon had yet to say anything to him about it or about the fact that she was with Keitaro made it clear that she was enjoying the attention.

Since Takeshi had no interest in human food, it was Kanon who picked the place to eat. She decided to go to a nearby, cheap soba house. This was the first time that she had ever been in a public place with a vampire. Needless to say, she did find it slightly awkward at first. She didn't feel right just eating while Takeshi sat on the other side of the table, unable to eat human food. Not only that, but the white tuxedo that he was wearing caught the eyes of many people inside and outside of the restaurant. A group of girls even stopped at the window and starred at him. When he saw them, he gave a big smile and waved, causing the girls to giggle and run off. He didn't seem at all bothered by the attention he was getting.

"It must really suck not being able to eat food," Kanon wondered, putting the chopsticks down and looking him over.

"I haven't been able to taste human food in so many years," he said. "I can't even remember what it tastes like. So I really have no interest in it. Besides, human food is bad for you."

"Do all vampires think that way?" she wondered.

"I know I do," he said. "And that's the only person I care about… Well besides you."

Kanon blushed. "You should really stop trying to hit on me, Takeshi. Keitaro wouldn't like it very much."

"Oh," Takeshi, wondered, his eyes lighting up. "And why is that? I'm just being nice. It's not every day that you get to meet such a beautiful girl like yourself. I'm sure he must be proud of himself for having someone like you."

"Yeah… I guess so."

Takeshi was quick to pick up the subtle change in her voice. He smiled. "Oh… You don't sound so sure of yourself. Tell me, Kanon, how much do you care about him?"

Kanon was a little surprised by the question and really didn't know what to say. Even more so, Elda's bat, whom was sitting right outside the shop, was listening in on the conversation and was also curious as to what her answer would be. But Kanon gave a soft smile.

"Keitaro is the only reason that I'm still alive today," she said, staring blankly down at her bowl of soba. "If it weren't for him, I would have been all alone. He was there for me when nobody else was and took care of me. I owe him my life."

Takeshi's smile slightly faded off his face. "It sounds like a really great guy."

"He is," Kanon replied, smiling. "And I would do anything just to be with him."

Outside the window, Elda decided to have her bat take off. She couldn't stand to listen to any more. She suddenly felt extremely shameful for what she had done to Keitaro. She had hoped that Kanon would easily forget about him when he is gone, but that won't be the way. This was honest love and Elda had seen it before. It was the same way she had felt about James Marker when he was still alive. She would have done anything for him without him having to ask her twice.

"Kanon," she said softly, going down into the basement and resting on her coffin, "why did it have to be him? Why couldn't you have fallen for somebody else? Why did it have to be a vampire hunter?"

None of it made sense. A vampire hunter was a vampire's worst enemy. It was because of vampire hunters that they were chased out of their home country. But Kanon had fallen head over heels for a vampire hunter that was also a feral half-vampire. Even with somebody like Takeshi hitting on her in plain sight, she still thought about Keitaro.

_I did the right thing,_ Elda thought to herself. _I will not lose another granddaughter to some boy._

Even as she thought this, another part of her felt extremely wrong. But what was done was done. Keitaro was, as far as she knew, gone forever. He was too dangerous to keep around anyways. If Elda would have let him live, he would most certainly hurt her dear Kanon by accident, even if she didn't mean it.

Takeshi seemed to take an extreme interest in Keitaro and as she finished he meal, he started asking random questions about him. After she finished eating he beat her to paying for the meal before they walked outside into the cold December night. Even then he still had more questions, all of which Kanon was quick to answer.

"Umm… Takeshi," she finally said. "Why are you so interested in Keitaro?"

Takeshi didn't reply at first but continued to walk off down the street and back into the park. Kanon followed him.

"A lot of vampires know of Keitaro," he said, when they were out of the ears of the public. "But the stories I hear aren't the best. I wanted to find out if the stories were true."

"What stories?"

"Nothing that you should worry about," he responded quickly.

Kanon didn't notice it, but suddenly Takeshi's dark red eyes glanced off to a nearby tree. Somebody was coming their way. His lips formed into a soft smile and he knelt down before Kanon, startling her.

"I think this is where I must leave, Kanon," he said, gently.

"Already?" she wondered. "I feel so bad. You came out to see me and all I did was make you buy me food."

He just smiled. "Well how about a kiss goodnight from the beautiful Pushuke for allowing me to see her again."

If there was ever a day that Kanon had been more embarrassed, today would be it. She really didn't know what to do. Takeshi was so kind to her, just like Keitaro was and even though she didn't want to admit it, she really liked him too. She decided that it would be a fair trade for the food and the flowers he got her.

"Will I see you again?" she asked.

"Only if you wish it," he said, smiling.

Kanon just smiled and leaned in, planting a soft kiss upon Takeshi's forehead. With that, Takeshi's smile grew even bigger, as his eyes darted to the path just as somebody happened to walk in.

* * *

Okay, so this chapter was planned out as soon as I started writting the story and was supposed to be part of the main plot line. But now, Takeshi has become so much of a secondary character to this story, I find it funny. So far though, this story has been more about Keitaro than it has been about Kanon. But I don't think it's a bad thing either. Anyways, I have a lot of work to catch up on so back to writting.


	33. Embarrassment 33

Embarrassment 33: Jealousy

* * *

It didn't take Kanon but a second to notice that Takeshi had his eyes on something. Following his gaze, she was startled to see Keitaro standing in the middle of the path, looking more confused than ever.

"I guess this is a bad time?" he said, staring at Takeshi with menacing eyes.

There was that silent moment that the two of them had eye contact. Takeshi, kneeling before Kanon with a big grin on his face, and Keitaro at a loss for words after seeing his girlfriend alone in the park with another man. It wasn't exactly the thing he was expecting to see. The worst part was that it hadn't occurred to Kanon how awkward this must have looked. With the position that Takeshi was in, it looked like he was proposing.

"You must be Keitaro," Takeshi said, smiling as he got to his feet.

He attempted to walk over to Keitaro and shake his hand, but the teenager just stared him down with the same blank stare.

"Kanon," he said, with a hint of darkness in his tone, "who is this?"

"The name's Takeshi," he replied for her. He still was wearing a huge grin on his face, even though he was the only one. But it slowly faded after a few moments. After giving Keitaro a quiet stare, he turned to Kanon. "It looks like I need to get out of here."

Before anyone could reply, he summoned down some of his bats. They circled around him and he disappeared within them before they took off. Keitaro just watched the bats silently for a few moments.

"What are you doing here, Keitaro?" Kanon asked, breaking the silence.

He just looked at her puzzled. "Shouldn't that be my line? Who's the vampire?"

"Didn't you get the text I sent you?" Kanon wondered. "I told you that I was going to be meeting a friend tonight."

"Uh… I think I lost my cell phone last night," Keitaro lied. He obviously knew what happened to it. "Since when did you know any vampires?"

"I met him while you were over in America," she explained. It was then that she noticed the look in Keitaro's eyes. "Wait, Keitaro, are you jealous of Takeshi?"

Keitaro's eyes lit up. "Why should I be jealous?"

Kanon just giggled. "Takeshi is a really sweet guy, but he's just a friend. You know I'll always be with you."

_Not if things go the way they are now,_ Keitaro thought to himself, sadly.

"I'm glad you have friends in both worlds now," he said, forcing a smile. "At least you won't be alone anymore."

"What about you, Keitaro?" she wondered.

This completely caught him off guard. "I… I only need to be with you, Kanon. That's enough to make him happy."

"Thanks, Keitaro," she replied, hugging him.

Keitaro stood there silently with his arms wrapped around Kanon, just thinking silently to himself. Even if Kanon denied, Keitaro had witnessed this vampire hitting on his girlfriend. He had never been jealous of anyone before. But this wasn't exactly a great feeling. Not only that, but he felt like he had seen this person before, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. Either way, next time Takeshi showed his face, he wanted to talk with him.

Kanon on the other hand didn't realize how Keitaro was feeling. With his body going feral, a lot of things were starting to get under his skin. She didn't know it but he was trying so hard to live peacefully until the end. He did such a good job hiding his feelings from everyone, even his own girlfriend didn't know what was going on. But it wasn't long before she noticed Keitaro's hands; both of which were bandaged.

"Keitaro, what happened to your hands?" she asked, concerned, as she let go of him and grabbed his hands.

"It's nothing," Keitaro lied. "I injured it last night in the kitchen."

Of course he didn't feel like telling her that he spent a good portion of last night trapped inside a coffin. His hands were bruised and scrapped up from him punching the wood of the coffin multiple times. But right now, nobody needed to know what Elda and he knew. He was still determined to settle this as friendly as possible. Still, Kanon was concerned.

"It looks really bad," she said. "I hope it heals okay."

"It's just a scratch," he said, even though he was wincing from the pain of her touching it. He immediately withdrew his hands from her. "Listen, Kanon, I'm sorry for barging in on you and Takeshi so unexpectedly. I've just been really distracted lately and seeing him with you caught me off guard."

"It's okay," she said, smiling. "Takeshi didn't stay long anyways."

"So does that mean you're free?" he wondered.

She was about to answer him when her cellphone started to ring. She quickly pulled it out of her pocket and answered it.

"Hello?" she said. "Really… I'm with Keitaro right now… But... Okay, I'll be home."

"Who was that?" Keitaro asked, when she hung up.

"It's Momma," she said. "I got to go home. Something has happened to Anju."

"I'll take you home then."

"There's no need," a voice said from behind them. Both Kanon and Keitaro wheeled around to see Tohru floating down on a cloud of bats. "I'm sorry, Keitaro. I've been told to come pick my cousin up and bring her home."

"Is this serious?" he wondered.

Tohru just shrugged his shoulders. "How should I know? But we need to go now."

Kanon nodded and turned to Keitaro. "I'm sorry for leaving you again," she said, giving him another hug.

"It's okay," Keitaro said. "Family is important. I'll see you tomorrow night then."

She gave him a quick kiss before walking over to her cousin, where bats came down to pick her up. Tohru turned to her. "I'll catch up. I need to talk to Keitaro for a moment."

Even if Kanon would have disagreed, it wouldn't have mattered. As soon as Tohru finished his sentence, the bats took off into the sky, carrying Kanon on top. She really didn't like traveling this way, but she was way too concerned for her aunt to care. She had no idea what had happened but this sounded bad.

Keitaro and Tohru watched the bats silently until they were well out of range before Tohru turned to Keitaro.

"I didn't want to say anything while my cousin was around?" he said calmly.

"You know what's going on, don't you?" Keitaro wondered.

"All I know is that her bats carried her unconscious body to the mansion just a few moments ago," he said. "I got a call asking if I could find my cousin and bring her home immediately."

"Was Anju attacked?" Keitaro wondered.

"I told you, I don't know. But you better watch your back."

Keitaro was confused but Tohru walked off before he could ask anything else. However, once again, Kanon and Keitaro's night together had been cut extremely short. This time it was serious. Even though Keitaro wasn't a big fan of Kanon's aunt, he couldn't help but be extremely curious about what was happening. Little did Keitaro know though, that things were only going to get worse.

* * *

Okay, sorry for taking so long on this chapter and coming back with so little. This chapter was originally supposed to be part of the last chapter but things happened. That's the only reason it's so short. Promise next chapter will be longer.


	34. Embarrassment 34

Embarrassment 34: Karin's Secret

By the time the bats dropped Kanon off at the front door of her home, everyone had already found out the news. She could easily make out her Grandpa's voice from inside the house. She quickly thanked the bats for taking her and walked inside to find out what was happening. As she quickly found out, almost the entire Maaka household, plus Ren was in the family room in heated discussion. The only one who wasn't in discussion was Henry Marker, who was in the corner of the room, yelling into an antique phone at some vampire clan.

Everyone was either in a state of shock or anger, including Ren, whom Kanon had only seen in his usual stuck-up attitude. But he looked genuinely angry as well. It didn't take long for Kanon to scan the room and realize that the only person missing was her aunt. All Kanon knew from when her mother called her is that she was home because something happened to Anju. So where was she?

"Kanon!" her mother exclaimed when she saw her. Immediately, Karin jumped up from the couch and ran over, hugging her. "I'm so glad you made it home safe."

"I'm okay, Mama," Kanon said, wrenching herself out of her mother's grip. "What's going on here? Where's Aunt Anju?"

"One of the vampire suitors decided to attack Anju tonight," Carrera said. "She's upstairs in her coffin, healing from the wounds."

"You had to let those other clans into our territory, didn't you," Elda said darkly, starring Carrera down. "How could you do such a thing to your daughter?"

"Don't you dare try to blame this on me, you old hag!" Carrera hissed, standing up with slipper in hand.

"Momma, please don't fight right now," Karin chimed in, trying to prevent the inevitable.

"Wait, Anju was attacked by another clan?" Kanon wondered. "How do you know?"

Ren just snickered. "They don't. Nobody knows what actually happened to my little sister. Her body was just found on the doorstep, passed out, with a ton of scars. There's no proof that a vampire did this."

"Oh," Elda claimed, turning to Ren, "and you think a human would be capable of doing this to her?"

"It's better than claiming that the other clans would do such a thing on our territory," Ren said. He slouched back in the chair and put his hands behind his head, completely tuning Elda out. "This is completely pointless. I could be out there right now, finding the guy and killing him myself for what he did to my little sister."

Elda looked at Ren for a few moments with disgust before coming up with an idea. "What if it's those vampire hunters again?"

For a brief moment, Kanon could feel the eyes of both Karin and Carrera on her. She almost laughed to herself.

"I don't think that they would be responsible," Karin said slowly.

"And why not?" Elda wondered.

Once again, their eyes shifted to Kanon and Elda noticed it. That's when she realized why. Because Kanon was dating Keitaro, other vampire hunters wouldn't dare to go near the Maaka family. But then again, maybe they found out what she did to Keitaro and are trying to get back at their family. Elda may have caused this. With this thought in mind, Elda quickly left the room. Nobody even questioned where she was going.

"Either way," Carrera commented. "I should have never forced my daughter to meet those suitors. With her avoiding so many of them, it's no wonder that they would have gotten angry. But this is just wrong."

"But," Kanon wondered, "don't you know all the vampire clans that have come here? Why don't you just figure out who did it?"

She just nodded to Henry, who was still over in the corner, having his own little argument with somebody on the phone. "He's been calling the vampire clans left and right, trying to figure out who did it."

Karin turned to her daughter. "I'm sorry Kanon. Until we find out who did it, you should stay inside for a while. I don't want to see you hurt."

"But what about my friends?" Kanon whined. "And I still have work."

"This isn't going to be like last time," Carrera explained. "It's just one vampire. But it's just for safety."

"I'll be safe as long as I'm around Keitaro," she tried to say.

However, Karin cut her off. "I couldn't ask this of him. Besides, he can't be around you all the time."

"But if it's a vampire, he can only come out at night. I'm going to be with Keitaro every other night."

"Wow," Ren finally said, still staring blankly up at the ceiling. "You really put too much trust into that boy. You don't even bother asking him how he feels about it."

"I'm not just going to sit inside all night," Kanon claimed. "Mama, I promise that I'll be fine. I've got friends like Takeshi and Nariko with me as well."

Karin just starred hard at the pleading look her daughter was giving her. In the end, she gave in. "Fine, just promise you that you won't be alone at night."

"Thank you, Mama," Kanon said, smiling largely. "I promise."

With that, she left the room and headed for the door. Even though she felt extremely sorry for her aunt, she had other things on her mind at the moment. It was still early in the night and for the past few nights she had been leaving Keitaro alone. She wanted to apologize to him as well as tell him the situation with the family. After all, he was a vampire hunter. If there really was a vampire attacking her family, he should be able to help track him down.

But she was stopped when she left the house by none other than Elda. Her great grandmother had come outside to where it was quieter so that she could think in peace. She was sitting at the bottom of the porch and for as far as Kanon could see, seemed to be deep in thought. But she was quickly pulled out of thought when Kanon shut the door.

"Where are you going so quickly?" Elda wondered, when she saw her granddaughter.

"I'm going back to be with my friends," she replied cheerfully, skipping to the bottom of the steps.

"With a vampire out there?"

"Mama already said I could," Kanon commented. "I'll be fine, Grandma."

"Are you going back to that one vampire boy, Takeshi?"

Kanon just smiled. "Takeshi left around the time Keitaro showed up. I'm going back to meet up with him."

"Kei-ta-ro?" Elda said, her jaw dropping.

Kanon skipped down the road and out of the barrier leaving Elda feeling extremely odd. Keitaro was still alive and had somehow escaped. She had really expected for him to be dead by now. Not only that but he was already around Kanon again, which meant that he wasn't afraid of Elda. Obviously he hadn't told Kanon what had happened yet, but she had to make sure Keitaro wouldn't do anything.

Back inside the mansion, Henry slammed the phone down on the table in anger and walked out from the corner to where the others were sitting.

"None of the other clans know anything about Anju being attacked," he growled. "It wasn't one of the suitors that did it."

"Told you," Ren said smugly. "None of the other clans would dare attack when they know who we have with us."

"I assume that you are referring to Elda," Henry wondered.

"The vampire hunter too," Tohru said, coming into the room and plopping into the couch next to his father.

"Tohru, it's nice for you to finally join us," Carrera said.

"Were have you been, boy?" Ren wondered.

"I was busy, Pops," Tohru replied calmly.

For a moment there, Ren looked like he was going to hit Tohru upside the head for talking back to him. Even Tohru knew this, but he could care less. He was too stuck up and proud of himself to be afraid of his father.

"Tohru," Karin chimed in. "Why do you think that other vampires would be afraid of Keitaro? We never told any of the clans that Kanon was dating a vampire hunter."

Tohru snickered slightly. "You think that matters? The Pushuke, the savior for every vampire in this world, is dating the son of Cross Organization. You think that the other clans wouldn't find out?"

"Even so," Henry said. "There is no doubt that it was another vampire that attacked her. No human could make those marks. Those scratches came from bats. I don't really care why they did it. But an attack against one Maaka is an attack against the entire family. When I find out what slime ball did this, I'll rip his bones out."

"There's no way we're going to find out until Anju wakes up," Ren said, standing up and stretching. "The only thing we can do is wait."

"Where you going, Pops?" Tohru wondered, as Ren headed for the door.

"Where do you think? I'm going home. I have a wife to tend to. Are you coming home tonight, or are you staying out again."

Tohru responded by shrugging his shoulders and getting up to follow his father out the door. Before he left, he turned to the other Maakas and bowed to them. The only ones left in the room were Karin, Carrera, and an extremely pissed Henry. But Carrera was the next to move. She got up and put her arms around Henry, who seemed to be in a trance. He looked as if he might kill the next person he sees.

"C'mon, Henry," Carrera said, helping him to his feet. "There is nothing more we can do right now. Let's just go to bed. I'll get you a cool glass of blood to calm you down."

Henry didn't put up a fight and allowed Carrera to drag him out of the room under her arm. Even though it was only eleven at night, it was probably in Henry's best interest to just go to bed. It would stop him from doing something reckless like trying to go out into the night to find the culprit. Henry loved all of his children more than anything in the world. Too see one of them injured was just too much for him to bear.

Karin, however, didn't go to bed. She stayed in the family room thinking about her sister. Her entire life she had been quite the klutz. But Anju was the one person who had always looked up to her for support even when she wasn't around. But now that Anju was in a coma, Karin felt helpless once again. She just couldn't see why anybody would attack the Maaka clan now. Especially Anju. What Karin hated even more was the fact that nobody knew who it was. There was no telling if he would attack again.

That was when Karin got an idea. Quick and quietly, Karin left the family room and headed up the stairs to Anju's room. The door to her room was still slightly cracked from when she had been carried in. As she pushed the door open, and stepped into the dark room, Anju's doll, Boogie was quick to gripe at her.

"_What are you doing in here, Karin?"_ he barked.

"I'm just here to check up on my sister," Karin whispered as she crossed the room to the elegant little coffin in the center.

_"Why don't you leave her alone? That's what she needs right now. At least tell me you found out the asshole that did this to her?"_

"That's what I want to find out," she replied, sliding the lid off the top of the coffin.

When the bats carried Anju back to the house, it was Elda and Carrera to get to her first. Karin never got to see the damage that had been done to her. But now, she wished she wouldn't have. Anju had bandages and scars up and down her bare body. Carrera had brought her upstairs and undressed her before attempting to mend some of the wounds herself. Karin could see the clothes folded neatly in the corner of the room. There were many tears in the dress and she could clearly make out blood on them. This wasn't just an attack. It was almost as if somebody was after her life. The good news was that being a vampire, Anju would be able to heal up quickly. In a few days, even these major scars would be nothing more than mere scratches.

Karin wanted desperately to find out who attacked their family and she didn't want to wait around for Anju to wake up. Karin had been hiding things from the rest of the family ever since Kanon turned her into a vampire. She tried to not let anyone know that she still missed her dead husband, Kenta, more than anything in the world. She also held out the fact that she had a way to find out who the attacker was. Smiling at herself, she reached into the coffin and placed her hand on top of Anju's forehead. Meanwhile, Boogie was over in the corner getting fed up on waiting on her.

_"What are you doing now, Dimwit?"_ he wondered.

"Be quiet, Boogie," she begged, before closing her eyes.

_"Don't tell me to be quiet,"_ he said, waving his knife around. _"You're sister is in pain. Let her sleep and get out of her room!"_

"I know what I'm doing."

_"yeah? And what is that?"_

"I'm going into her memories."


	35. Embarrassment 35

Embarrassment 35: A Cloud of Bats

* * *

For about a year now, Karin Usui had been keeping the fact that she could go into people's memory from the entire family. She never found it to be anything special. Every vampire had something that made them special. But Karin used and practiced with this ability all the time. Most vampires will be able to see the memories that they take from a human. But Karin was able to dive into their memories without ever disturbing them. She liked to do it when she was feeding. It allowed her to get to know the person that she was drinking the blood of. Sometimes it made her miss the human world, and other times it made her regret drinking the person's blood. Either way, she still treasured her gift.

It was also one of the reasons she was able to trust Keitaro more than anyone else in her family. Whenever Kanon came back from the ceremony of blood, Karin became curious as to how she survived. She spent almost an entire day inside Kanon's memories, and realized just how close she and Keitaro had become. She was able to see the kind of person he was just by looking at the world her daughter saw.

Now her hand rested on her sister's small forehead, glowing a dim light. She wanted to see the world through Anju's eyes. She wanted to be able to help her sister once again by finding out who attacked her. Meanwhile, Boogie was over in the corner of the room, muttering slander at Karin. She didn't pay any attention to his complaints.

The room seemed to get smaller around Karin and Anju, as if they were the only two left in the world. She already had a deep connection to her little sister, so this was easier for her than going into the memories of some random human. The next thing Karin knew, she was sitting at a table next to Anju outside of a small coffee shop. Of course Anju wouldn't be able to see Karin since this was her memories. But what Karin found strange was that Anju wasn't alone. Across the table from her, there was a young man with tangled, dark blue hair, and matching eyes. He was wearing a black college uniform that had the same insignia as the college Karin remembered Kenta going to.

What seemed odd was that the boy was talking to Anju as if she were a friend. There were even two cups of coffee in front of them, the boys being about half-empty and Anju's still filled to the brim. At first, Karin thought this might be her sister's way of seducing this man. It was always easier to feed on a human's blood when they trusted you. But even this seemed like a little much. Besides that fact, the boy knew her first name and was using it a lot.

"Are you feeling okay, Anju?" he asked, sounding extremely concerned.

She didn't actually respond to him, nor was she even facing him. She was actually turned in her chair and starring down at her lap. When he asked her the question, she barely lifted her head to give him a nod, before looking back down at her lap.

"Are you sure?" he asked again. "It's really cold out here. If you want, I could walk you home."

What Karin didn't know was that this was the same boy from the night before. Anju decided to meet up with him again just because he asked her too. This was the first human that hadn't shut her down after one date so she was curious. But it wasn't like they didn't have good reason to. She had a hard time trusting anybody outside of her own family and when she was around the human males, she would go extremely silent and say almost nothing. But this boy, Akihiko didn't seem bothered by it.

Anju grabbed her cup of coffee and quietly left the coffee shop. The boy was right in step with her and caught up. He walked extremely close to her, his shoulder brushing up against hers from time to time. The boy was nineteen years old but was just as short as Anju was. It made sense that she would go after the younger boys. After all, she drank so much blood on a daily basis that she still had the body of a sixteen year old girl. A very beautiful girl at that. Almost any guy that passed by her shot a quick glance at her, not because she was dressed in ancient gothic clothing, but because she was extremely beautiful from her long flowing silver hair that went down past her waist, to her beautiful yellow, catlike eyes that had the red tint near the center.

"You don't seem to talk much do you, Anju?" the boy said, trying to break the tension as the two of them crossed the street and headed into the city park to be alone. After all, Anju couldn't take him home to meet the family. The boy smiled. "That's okay though. I really don't mind."

Anju glanced up at the boy with one lazy eye. He seemed so persistent, but even a normal human being would have realized that Anju was far from normal. Finally Anju opened her mouth to say something. She chose her words correctly and spoke in her normal monotone voice.

"Why aren't you afraid of me?" she wondered.

Akihiko was startled by the question, but he laughed a bit. "Why should I be afraid of you? Just because you're a little different from the other girls I know? Honestly, I'm surprised you aren't afraid of me. Everyone else I know keeps their distance from me. I've been alone my whole life."

He wasn't lying and Anju knew this. Akihiko had a dark background. Ever since his father and mother died, he had been living with his grandparents. He never told Anju how they died, but she never really asked. Because he was short for his age, he was bullied at school and never had any close friends. Anju knew that the boy had been lonely his whole life just by the smell of his blood. He had so much loneliness inside of him that it made Anju's heart race when she was near him. It took a lot of her ability to hide her fangs from him when she was near and even more strength not to bite him and walk away.

Anju stared down at the ground silently, just listening to his heart beating within his chest. Her keen vampire ears could pick up every single heart beat. Even now, her teeth ached to be used. She knew very few people that had so much loneliness inside of them and she bet his blood tasted delicious. But at the same time, she fought her own urges. She didn't know why, but she didn't want to bite Akihiko. Instead, she felt sorry for him. In such a short time, she had gotten to know a lot about this human.

"I'm sorry," Anju said softly. "I know so much about you already. And you know nothing about me."

"It's fine, really… I think," he said, doubting even himself. "I guess, it's okay… I mean… If you want to tell me something… No… that sounds wrong, doesn't it?"

He was so awkward when talking to the girls, always second guessing himself. But what happened next surprised both him and Karin, who had been watching the whole thing with a grin on her face. Anju laughed. It was nothing more than a soft giggle, but she did manage to smile, which was something even Karin wasn't used to seeing. However, she was quick to catch herself and suddenly felt extremely awkward.

_What's wrong with me?_ She wondered to herself. _Did I just laugh? I've never laughed for anyone. Not even my family._

"Sorry," she repeated.

Akihiko smiled and reached down, grabbing hold of Anju's hand. The action startled her a little. But after a moment, she closed her small hand around his. She was surprised by how warm his hand was. This caused an unfamiliar feeling inside of her. She actually felt at peace at the moment. It was feeling she couldn't explain. Her heart was racing and it wasn't because of his blood. In fact, at the moment, she could tell that he wasn't lonely. Whatever the feeling was, Anju liked it.

Karin smiled largely. She knew exactly what was going on with her sister. Karin didn't think it was possible, but Anju was experiencing love for the first time in her life. It didn't even bother Karin that her daughter was dating a human. This boy seemed like a nice guy and a perfect match for her.

Unfortunately, the peace was extremely short-lived. As Anju and Akihiko walked through the park together, they happened to get stopped by somebody. There had been literally no people in the park, but this person managed to block their way. He was dressed in long black clothing with a hood that concealed his face. At his side was a long sheath with a sword sitting inside. Anju suddenly got the chills just by seeing the guy, but Akihiko didn't seem fazed.

"Excuse me, Sir," he said politely, still holding onto Anju's hand. "You are in our way."

"I'm sorry, human," the man replied in a slightly muffled voice. It was as if he was disguising his voice as well. "I just came here to see Anju Maaka."

Akihiko turned to Anju. "Do you know this person, Anju?"

It was then that he realized that Anju's eyes had narrowed. She had already noticed the bats that were sitting on the nearby trees. This man was a vampire, though not one she had ever seen before. Not only that, but she could sense that his intentions were less than good. Akihiko noticed her grip on his hand was tighter than before.

"You shouldn't be here," she muttered darkly under her breath to the man.

"Is that any way to treat a guest?" the man wondered. "I'm surprised to see that another Maaka is with a human. Your clan is all the same."

"Anju, what is he talking about?" Akihiko asked.

"So you haven't told him?" the man wondered.

"Told me what?"

"Don't," Anju muttered, glaring at the man with a look that could kill.

"Don't do what?" he wondered. "I'm just letting your little friend know that you have been hiding things from him."

Finally, Akihiko let go of Anju's hand and got between the two of them. He glared up at the man angrily. "I don't know who you are, Sir. But I don't care. I want you to leave, please."

Anju was surprised that this boy was standing up for her. But there was nothing he could do against a vampire. He was in a dangerous situation and didn't even know it. Anju had to do something because she could sense that he was going to get hurt.

"Akihiko," she said stoically. This was the first time she had ever said his name. "It's okay. I can deal with this."

"But…" he said, worried for her.

"You should listen to her, human," the man muttered, pushing past him and standing in front of Anju. "You know that I'm not here as a friend. Yet you don't try to get rid of me? Are you not going to fight?"

Anju glanced over to Akihiko, who seemed extremely nervous. After that she stood her ground. "What do you want from me?"

"I'm here to have you pass a message to your family," he muttered. "They better stay out of my way. I will get what I want."

What happened next, Karin couldn't believe. The bats from the surrounding trees all flew down and circled Anju, clawing a biting at her. She literally was engulfed in a cloud of bats, and doing nothing to stop it. In her mind, she realized she couldn't do anything without giving away what she was. It was odd, but for some reason she didn't want Akihiko to know the truth, yet she didn't know why. Her heart pounded in her chest just thinking about him. It confused her and scared her.

Outside, Akihiko was yelling Anju's name. He didn't understand what was going on. All he knew was that he wanted to help her. He ran up to the man, swinging his fist out. But with one swipe, he was flung almost twenty feet backwards, into a trashcan.

"I was hoping for a fight," the man said darkly, walking up to the cloud of bats. "You are the strongest vampire… or so they say. So why don't you prove it?"

Anju would have responded to him, but the pain from the bats attacking her, was clouding her thoughts. She had never experienced pain like this. But the worst part is, she didn't understand why she wasn't fighting back. She couldn't comprehend as to why she was enduring the pain. The bats hurt so much as the cloud of bats ripped and tore at her clothing, leaving gashes in her skin and drawing blood. But when Anju raised her hand, she didn't deter the bats. Instead, she put her hand to her forehead and let it glow a bright light. After that everything went black.

Karin couldn't see any more of the memory. That's where it ended. She knew why Anju couldn't do it. She didn't want to risk letting Akihiko know what she was. The whole reason she was so badly injured was because she didn't want to put up a fight. In the end, she knocked herself out so that she wouldn't have to deal with the pain. The vampire never intended to kill her. He was just fooling with her to see how far he could go. The worst part was that Karin could never see the vampires face. He kept it well concealed the whole time.

The next thing Karin knew, she was sitting beside Anju's coffin. Tears were streaming out of her eyes. The only thing she could think of doing was crying.

"Anju," was all she muttered.

* * *

So, I don't know what to say about this one. The last two chapters litterally came out of nowhere and I absolutely loved how they turned out. Don't expect Akihiko to be a new charachter though. I only plan on doing one or two more chapters with him actually in it. Please R&R and I'll post again asap.


	36. Embarrassment 36

Embarrassment 36: A Pounding Heart

* * *

Karin didn't know how long she stayed by her little sister's side. It seemed like hours that she sat there trying to tend to Anju's wounds. It wasn't like she needed it. None of the wounds were extremely deep. The attack was just made to look more vicious than it actually was. And as a vampire, most of the wounds went away before the night ended. Finally, just before the sun was about to rise, Anju's eyes slowly fluttered open.

She ached all over even though all that was left were minor scars. It actually hurt quite a bit just to move and Anju decided it better just to lie still for a few moments while trying to remember what had happened to her. But all she could think about at the moment was Akihiko. She couldn't understand why, but he was the only thing on her mind, and just thinking about him made her heart pound. She wasn't used to this.

Even more so was the fact that she had just let herself get attacked. But for what reason? For some reason, she didn't want Akihiko to find out the truth about her. She had never felt so confused in her life. For the first time ever she was caring about somebody outside of her own family.

It didn't take long before Anju noticed that she wasn't alone in her room. After taking a deep breath, Anju slowly sat up in her coffin to see that Karin was sleeping right next to her. Her sister had fallen asleep tending to her wounds and her was now resting her head on the edge of the coffin. Anju also noticed that there was a bowl of warm water on the floor next to her sister with a rag inside. The young vampire gave a slight smile.

"Thank you, Big Sister," she whispered, barely letting her voice escape her mouth.

_"Thank god,"_ Boogie said from over in his chair. _"I thought you would never wake up, Girly."_

"Boogie?" she replied softly. "What happened?"

_"You've been out for almost six hours, Girly,"_ he said in a dark tone. _"One of those damn vampire suitors attacked you tonight."_

"It wasn't a suitor," she said, thinking back to the attack.

_"You know the vampire that did this?"_

Anju just shook her head silently as she slowly rose to her feet, being extremely careful not to wake her sleeping sister. It felt like she hadn't moved in years and as she stood up, the bandages that had been wrapped around her petite form started to unravel. She just quietly looked down at the many scars that covered her body, still unable to believe that she had allowed the vampire to have his way with her. Revenge sounded like a great idea, but at this moment, she had another plan in mind.

Like a child taking their first steps, Anju stepped gently out of the coffin and walked over to her closet, unraveling all the bloody bandages as she went, until she was completely nude. Boogie didn't say anything to Anju until he saw her reach into the closet and pull out a fresh new dress as well as a pair of shoes.

_"Where the hell do you think you are going?"_ he wondered, flailing his arms wildly.

"Please keep your voice down, Boogie," Anju muttered softly, as she noticed Karin stir in her sleep.

_"What do you mean keep my voice down?"_ the doll continued. _"You can't seriously be thinking about going out there again tonight? You shouldn't be moving around so soon, Anju."_

"I have to go see Akihiko."

Even as the words left her mouth, she started to wonder why she was even thinking about him. Actually it was all she was really thinking about. Just saying his name made her heart pound a little more. She quickly shook off the feeling as she slowly put on the clothing over her already aching body. However, Boogie didn't seem to take it so well.

_"Are you crazy, Anju? You are worried about a stupid human at a time like this. Besides, it's almost morning. The sun will be coming up soon."_

"I'll be fine," she muttered, as she laced up her doll-like shoes and walked over to the window. Opening the curtains, she could see that there was a little light in the distance. The sun was already starting to rise and in less than an hour, the sun would be too bright for her. She didn't care though. "I'll be back tonight, Boogie."

However, the little doll was flailing around in the chair like crazy. Anju was his master. He just couldn't sit there and watch her do something so suicidal. _"What is wrong with you, Girly? Did that vampire knock a screw loose in your head or something? You can't leave now. You just woke up."_

His frantic words fell upon deaf ears. Anju was barely listening to him as it is. She had already made up her mind and before he could even finish his rant, she had already opened the window, summoned her bats, and took off. This was the last thing Boogie had expected her to do. He was left in the room with nobody but Anju's sleeping sister to keep him company.

_"What the hell am I supposed to do with her?" _he wondered. _"Don't tell me she actually fell in love with somebody."_

Anju flew as fast as her bats would carry her. What she was doing was completely brainless and she knew it. It was one thing to fly around on a cloud of bats in the middle of the night. But if anyone happened to look up, they would no doubt see her bats now. Not only that, but the sun was already to the point of rising. It was almost too bright for the vampire's eyes to handle already. If she didn't hurry, she wouldn't last forever, especially in her extremely weakened state.

However, none of this really matter to Anju. From the moment she had awakened, she found herself extremely worried for Akihiko. To leave him all alone with another vampire was extremely dangerous and she knew it. She remembered the boy telling her where he lived last night. She just wanted to make sure he was okay.

Not only that, but Anju needed to answer some questions for herself. She was in a very confused state right now, and even the pain from her wounds couldn't distract her. This was the first time in the young vampire's life that she ever thought about somebody so much. She wanted to know why her heart was beating so hard just thinking about him. All she could think about was the way Akihiko stood up for her in the park earlier that night. He had no reason to protect her, but did so anyways. What Anju didn't know was that she was experiencing a very human emotion of love for the first time ever.

It didn't take too long for the vampire to find the house that belonged to Akihiko, which was for the best. The morning sun was already showing its face over Tokyo, and Anju could already feel her skin getting extremely hot in the glow. She quickly had her bats drop her down in the shade of the house. Her vampire nose could already pick up the scent of the boy so she knew this was the right house. Without even thinking, she went up to the front door and gently tapped on the door.

"Just a minute," she heard a familiar voice say from inside.

Anju had to admit that she hadn't thought any further than knocking on the door. But it wouldn't have mattered anyways. The moment the door opened and she saw Akihiko standing inside, his arm in a freshly wrapped cast, her mind went blank. It took a few moments for everything to sink into Akihiko's mind. Anju was the very last person he ever expected to be at his front door. Immediately, his jaw dropped.

"A-Anju?" he said in disbelief. "Wh-what are you doing here? Wait, the sun is out. You shouldn't be outside. Come inside immediately."

What he did next startled the poor girl almost to death. Without another word, he grabbed her small hand with his good hand and pulled her into his house, closing the door tightly. Anju was in such a state of shock that she didn't even do anything in response. It even got more surprising the moment he closed the front door tightly and gave her a big hug.

"You had me so worried, Anju," he said, wrapping his arm around her and holding her close to him. "I was so afraid you wouldn't survive."

For almost an entire minute, Anju just starred wide-eyed at the wall, unable to think of anything to say. Her arms hang loosely at her sides as she did nothing to stop Akihiko from hugging her. At this moment, her mind was running like crazy. She couldn't even think straight.

"You… were worried about… me?" she muttered softly, still in a slight trance from the shock.

"Of course I was," he said, letting go of her and smiling. "I don't know what I would do if you didn't make it."

"I'm…. okay," she replied softly.

She slowly gathered up her composure. But what Akihiko said next almost made her heart stop.

"What are you doing out so late, Anju?" he wondered. "It's too dangerous for a vampire to…."

Immediately he covered up his mouth. But the damage was done. He watched as Anju's little eyes went wide in shock. He knew what she was. The entire room went silent as they stared each other down. Anju was at a loss for words. Akihiko knew… He knew what she was… Another human knew she was a vampire… But instead of summoning a bat or wiping his mind. Anju's eyes started to water. She suddenly felt ashamed of herself. She didn't understand why, but the idea of him knowing the truth about her was painful.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, turning her back to him and opening the door. The morning sunlight shinned brightly into her eyes, nearly blinding her, but she didn't care. "I'll leave now."

"Wait!" Akihiko said, running up beside her and shutting the door before she could leave. "Don't be sorry. It's okay… really."

He quickly turned the little girl around to face him and was shocked to see that tears were running down her eyes. This caught him off-guard. Anju was crying. He had never seen her show any emotion in front of him so this was very unexpected. But now he understood what it meant to her.

For about a moment, Anju stared into Akihiko's caring eyes trying to hold back all the tears. But she didn't have the strength to do anything. Without warning, she lost consciousness and fell, just barely being caught by Akihiko. She had already been in a very weak state. The combination of going out into the sunlight and the pressure of realizing he found out the truth was too much for her young body and she lost touch with reality.

Hours later, the young girl awoke to find herself lying on a couch in a living room. She felt even weaker than the last time she awoke. But this time, there was a smell of blood in the air that made her heart pound and her fangs grow. It didn't take her long to realize the smell was coming from none other than Akihiko, who happened to be sitting on the couch right next to her. Anju's cheeks went slightly red as she sat up and covered her mouth.

Akihiko was silent at first as he stared at her with a monotone look. He had no idea what to say to her. Luckily, it was Anju who spoke first.

"Why aren't you afraid of me?" she asked darkly.

"Well I… I- um… I think it's kinda cool, you being a vampire and everything," he replied trying to force a smile.

Anju still held the dark and stoic attitude. Deep down, she was hoping that she wouldn't have to resort to wiping his memory.

"How did you find out?" she wondered, already knowing the answer.

"That guy from last night told me," he replied. "I didn't know what to believe at first."

_No surprises there,_ she thought to herself.

"What else did he say?"

"He told me that there are other vampires out there asking for your hand in marriage," he said. "He said that you were dating humans because you are afraid of the other vampires."

"I'm not afraid," Anju said darkly.

"So it is true?" he wondered. Anju didn't know what to say at first so she just nodded quietly. Akihiko couldn't help but notice that she was trembling slightly. All this time, she didn't want him to find out the truth because she was scared of him. "Anju, I think it's okay that you are a vampire. Do you really think I would hate you for something so simple as that? You are still you."

Anju still didn't say a word.

"I guess I really can't speak for you," he said, sadly. "I've never really been that good talking to girls before, and I know nothing about vampires other than what tv has taught me. But I can tell that you didn't want me finding out the truth about you."

"It's not that," she finally said, still in the stoic tone. "I didn't want you finding out the truth like this. What the other vampire told you is true. The only reason I started dating you was so that the other clans would leave me alone."

"Why are they bothering you?"

After taking a deep breath, Anju started to tell Akihiko the truth. The entire time, she remained in a slight state of fear. She had never told a human so many things and frankly, this was the most she had ever spoken to Akihiko. The entire time, she monitored his reaction, only to be surprised that he didn't seem fazed at all. It was like he wasn't surprised that the world was filled with vampires. In fact, the whole time he watched her with interest and curiosity. Twenty minutes later, she finished and held her breath for what he would say next. She was never prepared for what happened.

* * *

Hello again. Yes, I know, it's been two months since my last post and at this point I'm pretty sure the story has died. I really don't have a reason why the story stopped for so long and I am trying my best to get back into writting it. After all, there isn't much left in the story. But since it has been so long, I do have a request. I am looking for at least three reviews. Three reviews to tell me that there are actually people still reading this, and I will finish the story. Otherwise, I might not continue on. If you are still reading this and want me to finish hit me up with a review and expect the next chapter shortly. Thank you.


	37. Embarrassment 37

Embarrassment 37: Bitter Sweet

* * *

"How could you let her go in the state she was in?" Carrera yelled, hoisting Boogie up by his collar.

_"Oh, I'm sorry,"_ Boogie teased, half-laughing. _"What was I supposed to do? Get up and stand in her way?"_

"Where did she go?" Carrera hissed, tightening her grip around his neck.

_"How am I supposed to know?"_ Boogie lied. _"Now do you mind putting me down, Old Lady? You are messing up my nice shirt."_

It was useless. Carrera's threats meant nothing to Anju's doll. She was just wasting her time. Angrily, she let go of Boogie and let him fall onto the floor. She didn't bother to put him in his chair.

"Honestly," she said, stomping out of the room, slamming the door behind her, "I don't even know why she keeps these dolls. They are completely pointless."

It was going on almost nine at night and Anju still hadn't returned home. Karin was the first to realize that her sister wasn't in the room, but strangely didn't say a word. It was mostly because she knew exactly where her sister had gone. But Henry and Carrera found out that Anju had run off again, they didn't take it so well. But it wasn't seconds after Carrera had left the room that Anju's window opened slowly, and Boogie saw her small figure crawl inside.

_"About time you show up, Girly,"_ Boogie said from the floor. He expected Anju to say something to him. Even her usual, Good Evening. But she didn't. Instead, she crossed the floor to the coffin, opened up the lid, and crawled inside, closing it quickly. Boogie wasn't happy. _"Anju, you're not going to just leave me on the floor are you? The rats will get me if I stay here. Hey, Anju!"_

What Boogie had failed to notice was that when Anju got into her coffin her eyes were bloodshot. She had spent the last few hours crying. The last thing she wanted to do was see anybody in the family in her state. She couldn't let them see her so vulnerable.

As she lay in her coffin silently, the tears slowly started to come back. On her mind was nothing more than the conversation that she had with Akihiko just a few hours back. It hadn't ended the way she wanted to, and she started to wonder if she did the right thing. But now there was no turning back.

The moment she had finish telling him why she was dating humans, she watched for a reaction. For a few of the longest seconds, Akihiko just sat there silently, taking everything in. Anju was already slightly amazed that he believed her without question. But the silence was killing her. She wanted him to respond. But when he did, she didn't like it.

"It sounds like you are very special to them," he said, giving a slight smile. "But what are you going to do now?"

"What do you mean?" she wondered.

"I mean, you should probably be with one of them," he replied, sounding like he didn't want to say it himself. "Anju, I'm happy that I got to know you. You are probably the coolest girl I have ever gotten to meet. But you belong with other vampires like you."

Anju just glared at him. "I don't want anything to do with the other vampires."

"But I don't think it's a good reason to go out with people like me. All don't you think you're going to make them mad. There are people out there who need you, Anju. Gosh, I wish I could be as important as you are. But I'm nobody and I'll always be nobody."

"Those vampires don't know anything about love," Anju hissed, getting that feeling like she had said this before. "All they want is for me to bear their child."

"I don't think that's true," he continued. "I just think that you haven't given them a chance yet."

"How do you know that?" she wondered, darkly.

Akihiko just smiled brightly. "Because I know you. If any of those vampires are even half the person you are, I'm sure they aren't all that bad."

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine. We never would have done well together anyways. I'm just happy to have known you as a friend."

Anju could feel the tears coming to her eyes, but she didn't want him to see her cry. She couldn't…. Not again. But he could already tell what was happening. So before she could shed one tear, he gave her a hug. She didn't know what to do at first, so she let instincts take over and she hugged him back, no longer to hold back the tears. She had never let any human ever see her emotions, but right now, she could care less. She felt like a child again, wishing that it didn't have to end this way. It was a very silent cry, but a cry none the less.

"I'll never forget you," she muttered, resting her head on his shoulder.

But what Anju did next was something that hurt her more than ever. As she rested her head on his shoulder, she slowly reached her hand up to the back of his head. What he didn't know was that her hand was glowing brightly. Without warning, she erased his memory of everything. She erased his memory of her, and the other vampire and everything that had happened over the past few days. The entire time, she couldn't hold back the tears. She had never felt so much pain in erasing another's memory.

Just as Akihiko went limp in her arms, she drove her long fangs into his neck, and tasted the sweet taste of his blood. The truth was, Anju knew he was lying. He was leaving her for her safety, not for his own good. She wanted to take the pain away from him. She would drain him of his loneliness as well as make him forget ever meeting her. She may not be happy with it, but when he wakes up, he will be as bright as day. He won't feel lonely for a long time and will not have a single care in the world. At least that, Anju could give him. So why was it so painful?

Anju stayed by his side until the sun went down and disappeared before her ever woke up. She cried almost the entire time, until her eyes went blood red. Now, she was all alone again, lying in her coffin just looking into his memories. The memories that she had taken from him. For him, she would give the vampires another chance. Maybe he was right after all.

"I'm sorry… Akihiko," Anju said softly.

* * *

So here is an extremely short chapter that ends the Anju story arc. I'm sorry if you were hoping that she got with a human but this just seemed more touching. Tell me what you think and see you with the next chapter.


	38. Embarrassment 38

Embarrassment 38: Fuel to the Flames

* * *

Ever since the one random attack on the Maaka clan, things had actually returned to normal for both Keitaro and Kanon. Keitaro had made a personal vow to Kanon that he would keep an eye out for any vampires that matched the vague description Anju had given the family. But it had been three days since the attack, and nothing had happened. Keitaro wondered if the vampire had left.

On top of that, Keitaro had been doing his best to hold off his feral side while not letting Kanon in on what was going on. He was actually quite thankful that she never paid too much attention to the world around her. But he didn't know how much longer he could last. Even as he walked towards Hina's bakery, he noticed the strong smells of blood coming off of every single person within a ten meter radius of himself. There was also that evil little voice in the back of his head, taunting him the whole way there. But Keitaro did his best to cling to what little sanity he had left. However, seeing Kanon's smiling face as she came out of the bakery and gave him a kiss, made it really easy to forget about the pain for a while.

"You seem in a cheerful mood tonight," Keitaro gently teased her.

Kanon shook her head and smiled. "No more than usual."

"I wouldn't say that," a voice said playfully from behind them.

Both Kanon and Keitaro turned around and were surprised to see Takeshi crossing the street towards them wearing yet another white suit with solid gold trimmings. Kanon smile when she saw him, but Keitaro quickly glared at him.

"Takeshi," Kanon said, surprised, "what are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," he said beaming, before turning to Keitaro. "It's good to see you still doing well, Keitaro."

Keitaro nodded but didn't return the smile. "Didn't expect to see you tonight."

"Well I'm just full of surprises, aren't I?" Takeshi replied smugly. "Just like you, Keitaro."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

He just shrugged, still smiling before turning back to Kanon. "I feel like I have come at a bad time. Should I just go?"

"No, no, no," Kanon replied quickly. She gave Keitaro a gentle nudge. "Keitaro was just walking me home. Would you like to join us?"

"I'm not allowed to go near the Maaka mansion," Takeshi reminded her.

Keitaro smiled. "Tough luck on that, Takeshi. Maybe next time."

"It's okay," he replied. "But, Keitaro, do you mind if I have a quick chat with you before you go."

Keitaro was about to tell him off, but Kanon already knew what he was going to say and cut in. "That sounds like a great idea. I think I left something inside the bakery anyways. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Before anyone could object, she quickly turned heels and went back into the bakery, leaving Keitaro alone in the cold with Takeshi. Takeshi just smiled even wider.

"She's a crafty little girl, isn't she?" he said slyly.

"That's my girlfriend you are talking about, you know," Keitaro commented. "What are you doing here vampire? What do you want with Kanon?"

Takeshi eyed him. "So much hostility. I can already tell you don't trust me."

"The last vampire that came onto the Maaka's territory tried to force Kanon to come to Russia with him," Keitaro replied. "Forgive me if I get suspicious."

"I guess it can't be helped. You are a vampire hunter after all. But I am merely here for the Pushuke's protection."

"Protection from whom?"

Takeshi paused for a moment as he chuckled to himself. "Protection from you, of course. Tell me Keitaro Cross, did you really think I wouldn't find out about your secret?"

At that, Keitaro's eyes lit up like fire. He already didn't like where this conversation is going, but he still tried to play it off like he had no clue what was going on. However, the look in Takeshi's blood red eyes told Keitaro that he knew more than he was letting on.

"I have no clue what you are talking about," Keitaro said darkly.

"Come on, Cross," Takeshi said, walking around to Keitaro's backside. He was getting extremely close. "You may be able to fool a human but I know what you are. You're half-vampire blood is easy to detect. I smell it boiling within your body. You've gone feral, haven't you?"

It was starting to surprise Keitaro that so many people knew his secret now. It seemed like every person he met knew exactly what was happening to him just by looking at him.

"I've heard a lot of stories about you, Cross," Takeshi continued, still putting on a large smile like a child who knew a dirty little secret. "Every vampire knows your name. They say you are the greatest vampire hunter in the world."

"It's just a title," Keitaro replied through gritted teeth.

"Clearly. But it still made me curious. But what makes me even more amazed is that I come here to find out that not only is the savior for vampires dating the world's greatest Vampire Hunter, but he is also a half-vampire. Which explains why you were able to get near the Elder house back then."

Keitaro glared at Takeshi with menacing eyes. There was a lot of tension in the air and he had a bad feeling that Takeshi was about to go against him.

"Is there a problem with me being a half-blood?" he asked slowly.

Takeshi laughed again. "Not at all, except for the fact that you are going feral as of this moment. You can deny me all you want, but the beating of your heart and that look in your face never lies. I can't trust you around Kanon."

Finally, Keitaro lost his temper and pushed him back a step. "You have no clue what you are talking about, Vampire. What happens to me is none of your business."

Takeshi remained calm, still putting on that sly smile. "The Pushuke is under the protection of every vampire, Cross. It is my duty to protect her as it is the duty of all vampires. You may be with Kanon for now, but how long will it last? How much longer do you think you can protect her before you lose control? How much longer until she loses you?"

"What do you care?" Keitaro barked.

"Because she is a beautiful young girl!" Takeshi finally yelled back. His smile had completely faded from his face. "I'm here because I know that you can't won't be around forever. If you want, you can call me a suitor for young Kanon Usui."

"She is already with me," Keitaro said, his hand reaching slowly for the pistol in his pocket. "You come anywhere near her and I'll…"

"You'll do what?" Takeshi wondered. "You'll shoot me? Control yourself, Cross. As much as you might hate it, you know that what I say is true. Kanon needs to be with somebody and you don't have much longer. As soon as word hits the other vampire's ears that you are gone, there will be many suitor's coming to take her hand."

"You seem to think you know me," Keitaro said.

"You have no choice, Cross. Either I stick near you and Kanon and watch over you, or you leave Kanon now before you become a danger to her. It's your choice." His eyes darted into the bakery, where Kanon was heading for the door with a carefree smile on her face. Takeshi quickly finished what he had to say before she made it outside. "I'll leave the two of you alone for tonight, but after this, you will have to make the choice. Don't get in my way."

Kanon happened to open the door just as Takeshi summoned down a few of his bats and disappeared from sight, leaving Keitaro in a very bad mood. It took only a few split seconds before Kanon picked up the scent of his anger. She could already feel her blood slowly increasing from the doorway.

"Keitaro?" she said cautiously, trying to steady her breathing. "Is everything okay?"

Keitaro just stared silently at the spot where Takeshi had been standing just moments ago. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He knew that Takeshi had been trying to hit on Kanon, but this was just unexpected. There were already vampires that knew he was going feral. Takeshi was another vampire suitor, trying to win over the hand of Kanon. Keitaro knew deep down that as soon as he was gone there would be vampire clans that would want to date the Pushuke, but he never wanted to admit it. The idea of somebody else with his girl wasn't exactly the happiest of thoughts.

"Keitaro?" Kanon said again, startling him. He turned and realized she was standing right next to him, looking extremely concerned. "What happened?"

What could he say? He couldn't tell Kanon what Takeshi had said without giving away to Kanon that he was indeed going feral. But at the same time, he couldn't bear standing around and letting some other guy hit on her with him around. Instead, he forced a weak smile.

"It's nothing, Kanon," he muttered. "Just having a rough night. Let's get you home, okay?"

Kanon looked him over, still concerned. She didn't tell him that her blood was boiling inside of her body at the moment. She was picking up a very intense scent of anger inside of her boyfriend. But she had a feeling that he had enough on his plate at the moment and didn't want to worry him with her problem. Instead she took a deep breath and held onto his arm as they walked towards the Maaka mansion.

What neither of them noticed was that on a nearby building, Tohru Maaka was sitting down and had heard the entire conversation. He sat there calmly, even though he knew that he wasn't alone on the rooftop. There was another vampire who had just appeared behind him. For Tohru, the night was just about to get interesting.

* * *

And now for the last major arc in the story. First I would like to say thank you for the reviews I got. I do plan to continue the story now, however I will not be posting every single day. Expect about three chapters a week though.


	39. Embarrassment 39

Embarrassment 39: Second Threat

* * *

"It's about time you showed up," Tohru said calmly, still staring off the building to where Kanon and Keitaro were walking.

Behind him, a vampire stood in a black cloak wielding a katana in his right hand. It was the exact same vampire who had attacked Anju a few days ago. Despite this, Tohru remained unfazed.

"It's been a while, Tohru," he said in a deep, half-muffled voice. "We have to stop meeting like this. I take it you got my warning?"

"You attacked my cousin," Tohru replied, getting up slowly and turning around to face the vampire. "I will make you regret bringing my family into this."

The mysterious vampire scoffed slightly. "Your family is in the way of my target. Be lucky I didn't kill little Anju."

"Tch. You really think you have a chance against Keitaro?"

"The boy is weak. He can barely hold on as it is. He poses no threat to me."

Tohru just smiled at the thought of somebody calling Keitaro weak. "And what makes you think I'll let you get anywhere near him?"

"Come now, Tohru," the man replied. "How long have you been chasing after me? What makes you think you can beat me now?"

"Because I know who you are now," Tohru answered, smiling brightly.

There was a slight pause, as the vampire gripped firmly on his sword. "I figured you would find out soon enough. But this changes nothing. Keitaro will die by my hands. And if you dare to get in the way of my prize, I'll kill you too."

"We'll see about that one," he said.

Without warning, Tohru lunged at the cloaked vampire, fists ready. However, his fist never made contact with flesh. Just before he reached him, the vampire vanished into thin air. Before Tohru knew what was happening he could feel a sword slicing through his lower back. The mysterious vampire was behind him and had swung out his sword, cutting the skin. Tohru fell over in pain, feeling the warmth of something dripping down his back.

"Come now, Tohru," the hooded man said darkly. "You'll never be able to catch me. It would be better if you run back and tell them you give up. Save yourself."

Even though the young vampire was in a slight bit of pain, he slowly got to his feet and chuckled to himself. "You think I would just let you walk away with my family's lives at stake?"

"They will come to no more harm as long as I get what I want."

"Sorry. I can't let that happen."

With that, Tohru swung at the vampire again. Being a vampire himself, he was faster than a human. But he was still outmatched by the mysterious vampire, who disappeared from sight again. It wasn't a second later that Tohru could feel the cold hard steel as it sliced across his arm. The vampire appeared again in the center of the building. Tohru couldn't see his face, but he had a feeling that he was smiling.

"You don't have to die like this, Tohru," he said in the same muffled, stoic voice. "As a fellow vampire, I have no reason to kill you…. Yet."

Tohru gripped his arm, wincing from the pain. If he kept up this attack, he would most likely be killed. He didn't stand a chance fighting him. But despite all that, he smiled. Without giving much thought into it, Tohru reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver pistol and aimed it at the vampire, quickly squeezing the trigger. The gun went off; ringing through the night air, but the bullet never hit the target. The vampire had disappeared from sight the moment he saw Tohru reach for his weapon. This time, however, he didn't reappear. The attack was never meant to kill Tohru, just to warn him. Sighing, he put the gun away and limped over to the edge of the building and sat back down.

"The things I do for my family," he muttered to himself.

He didn't remain on the roof of the building for much longer. There would be nothing more that he could do tonight. After about a moment, he summoned down some bats and took off into the sky.

Keitaro would have to be pulled into this before long. But for right now, the half-blood had another issue on his hand. The two of them had just made it to the Maaka mansion. Unfortunately, somebody was waiting outside for them to arrive. Keitaro suddenly felt a wave of fear rush over him.

"Good evening, Elda Marker," he said, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Elda stood in front of the door wearing an ancient looking dressing with a matching umbrella. The look on her face as she eyed Keitaro was one that could easily kill. Both of them wanted to see each other for their own reasons. The only thing that stopped Elda from ripping off his head was Kanon, who happened to be gripping tighter on Keitaro's hand. She was still feeling the effects of her blood increasing, though she didn't understand why. It seemed too soon for her need to feed already. Thankfully, Keitaro didn't seem to notice it.

"Kanon, my dear," Elda said through gritted teeth, still not taking her piercing gaze off of Keitaro, "do you mind going inside. I would like to have a word with your boyfriend here."

Kanon glanced at the two of them quizzically before letting go of Keitaro's hand and heading inside the house. She had no clue what was going on between her grandmother and boyfriend. Elda and Keitaro remained utterly silent until they were sure that Kanon wouldn't be able to hear them.

"You've got a lot of nerve coming near my granddaughter, vampire hunter," she hissed after a few moments. "What are you doing here?"

"I came here to talk to you, Mrs. Marker," Keitaro said slowly, choosing his words very carefully. "I want to settle this once and for all…. For Kanon's sake."

"I would never harm my sweet Kanon," she said, getting angry.

"You are hurting her by attacking me. Listen, I'm sorry that I lied to you, but I'm not going to harm your family in any way…"

He wanted to speak more but Elda held up her hand to silence him. "Just answer me one question, vampire hunter. Why does my family trust you?"

Keitaro was silent for a moment. He really didn't know the answer to that question himself. The fact was, even though the rest of the Maakas didn't really like him for who he was, they treated him like family most of the time. It wasn't natural for vampires, who were solitary most of the time. His first thought was that it had to do with him protecting them, but he held his tongue on that.

Finally, he let his heart speak the truth. "They trust me because of a Kanon. Kanon blindly cares about me because she doesn't want to be secluded from the world. I was here first link to a normal life, so she fell for me because of it. They don't care that I'm a vampire hunter and don't care that I'm going feral. As long as I can put a smile on Kanon's face, they will continue to trust me."

He immediately fell silent and waited to see how she would respond. He could feel her searching his eyes for lies. But she wouldn't find any, because this was the truth. In the end she slowly let up on her anger and calmed down.

"I don't like you, Keitaro," she said sharply. "And I have no reason to ever trust you…. But killing you won't help because my dear sweet Kanon loves you. Feel lucky that she cares about you."

He smiled slightly because he really was happy for Kanon at this moment.

"Thank…" he started to say.

"However," she said, cutting him off, "if you ever break the trust of any of my family members, it won't matter how crafty you are. Next time, I'll throw you in a coffin and watch you burn."

Keitaro shuddered slightly, thinking back to the short, yet horrible time he spent inside the coffin. He had no doubt in his mind that Elda could and would do that to him.

"So does that mean I'm off the hook?" he asked slowly, knowing that he was pushing his luck.

Elda just snickered. "Would you like something else? I've got more pressing problems to deal with than a pathetic vampire hunter like you. But I'm going to be keeping an eye on you."

With that, Elda rudely pushed past Keitaro, opened up her umbrella and continued on down the road to the barrier. For a few seconds, Keitaro didn't know what to do. He had expected this to have been a much longer talk. But Elda already had time to think things out herself. She knew that there was nothing that she could do about him. Like Kenta, Keitaro was very close to somebody special. That didn't mean that she wouldn't keep an extremely close eye on him. The moment he gave her a reason she would kill him without question.

Keitaro finally turned and walked into the Maaka mansion, breathing slightly easier. At least he had one less person to worry about now.


	40. Embarrassment 40

Embarrassment 40: Blood

* * *

It didn't take long for Keitaro to find Kanon from within the dark house. He couldn't help but notice that the zero lighting wasn't a problem for his eyes, which only proved that he was still going feral. His girlfriend surprised him when he came into the kitchen to find her cooking a meal for both of them. When she saw him, she smiled in relief. She had been afraid of what her great grandmother might have wanted with him.

"I was thinking that since you're here," she said, blushing furiously, "that…well…maybe you'd like to have dinner with me."

Keitaro couldn't help but smile slightly. Just the thought of Kanon cooking for him almost made the hunter go red in the cheeks. Besides, for the past few weeks, he had hardly eaten anything without having to choke it down first. So he did feel extremely hungry. Not that he would have denied her anyways.

"I'd be happy to," he replied, walking over to the table and taking a seat.

Right then, Kanon had to turn away from him to hide the fact that she was smiling brightly. She never really had the chance to show off her cooking skills to Keitaro, so she was going to make sure this was the best meal she had ever prepared. However, she couldn't help but notice that while she was cooking, her heart was throbbing in her chest. She had been ignoring it until now, but it was obvious that her blood was increasing again. With Keitaro being the only other person in the room, she was really starting to feel nervous.

"Keitaro," she muttered a few minutes later, "did something happen tonight?"

Keitaro was caught slightly off guard by her question. "W-why do you ask?"

Kanon kept her back turned so that he couldn't see she was in pain. She didn't feel like letting him know her blood was increasing.

"It's just that…" she started. "Well…ever since you and Takeshi talked, you've been acting a little strange. Did something happen?"

_Of course something happened,_ he thought angrily to himself. _That bastard is trying to blackmail me in order to get closer to you._

Even though he was thinking that, he still forced a smile and shook his head. "Nothing really happened between him and me. He did say that he's going to be sticking around for a few nights."

Kanon smiled slightly. "You don't really like him do you?"

_Is it that obvious?_ he wondered.

"I'm just looking out for my favorite girl," he said.

She couldn't help but blush again. "You don't have to worry about him, Keitaro. He's not like the other vampires. He won't hurt anybody."

_Of course he won't harm you, Kanon. He's trying to date you._

Keitaro tried his best to forget about Takeshi for the rest of the night. Thinking about the vampire just made him angry anyways. So he immediately changed the subject.

"So, Kanon," he said as she poured him a hot bowl of Soba, "how has your aunt been doing lately?"

Kanon smile faded away slightly and he could see her glance up as if looking upstairs. "I don't really know. Anju has been very quiet lately. Mama and the rest of the family are starting to get really worried about her."

"Do you think it has something to do with that vampire that attacked her?" he wondered.

She just shook her head. "I don't really know. Grandma and Grandpa seem to think so. But Mama says that she thinks something else may have happened."

Kanon finished making their dinner and grabbed a seat next to Keitaro at the table. For a moment, he thought that maybe bring this up wasn't such a good idea. He had heard that Anju had been avoiding contact with her family ever since they threatened to give her to another vampire clan. But it seemed like there was a lot more going on that he didn't know about. It probably wasn't his place to ask anyways.

Keitaro turned his attention to the food that Kanon had made for them and forced a weak smile. The food looked amazing and he could tell that she put a good deal of work into making it for him, but the scent the was filling up his nose wasn't of the meal. It didn't take long to realize what the smell was and at that moment, his eyes went wide with shock. The smell that was filling his nose was that of blood. But not just any blood. It was that of Kanon's. She was sitting so close to him that he picked up the mouthwatering smell of her blood. He could already feel the fangs in his mouth growing slightly.

_Get control of yourself, Keitaro,_ he told himself.

He immediately reached for the spoon and tasted the food, hoping to block out the smell of blood. But the moment the liquid touched his tongue, he felt sick to his stomach. His body was rejecting the food again. It didn't want human food. It wanted blood. He tried his best to swallow the food but it was like eating dust and left his mouth feeling extremely dry.

The whole time, Kanon happened to be watching him with a concerned look on her face. She could tell that he was forcing down the food. It made her a little upset, because she thought maybe she had done a horrible job cooking. She had no idea what was really happening.

"I'm sorry," she said, her eyes going slightly watery.

Keitaro looked up from the bowl, confused. It was then that he realized what this might look like to her. "Kanon, don't be sorry. It's my fault."

Without saying anything, he got up from the table and walked towards the bathroom. He had the feeling like he was going to puke. He had to get a hold of himself now. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Kanon just sat there, tears coming to her eyes. She was upset, confused, and to top it all off, her heart was pounding extremely hard. Her blood was starting to increase again.

_Is Keitaro mad at me?_ she wondered, sadly.

The moment Keitaro was in the bathroom, he quickly closed the door behind him and opened the small window above the toilet for fresh air. It didn't matter though. He couldn't seem to get the smell of Kanon out of his nose. It made him want to puke just thinking about it.

"She isn't even my blood type," he muttered to himself, angrily.

The world seemed to be spinning around him and he had to sit down on the toilet in order to keep himself from collapsing onto the floor. Absentmindedly, he reached into his pocket, trying to find the flask of blood. But he had left it back at the hotel. Instead, his hand hit something else. Gripping onto the object, he pulled it from his pocket. It was his gun. He just stared down at the cold steel in his hands silently, thinking out his options.

_I can't keep this up forever,_ he thought. _Why do I keep fighting?_

_You don't have it in you,_ a familiar voice whispered into his ear.

"Shut up," he muttered back.

The voice laughed darkly. _Look at you, Hunter. All you can think about is sinking your teeth into that pretty girl. How sad._

"You're lying," he barked.

_It's over, Keitaro. You put up quite the fight. But did you really think that you could last forever? I can make the pain go away. Just give into it. It was what you were born to do._

Keitaro covered his own ears, trying desperately to block out the voice. But he was the only one in the bathroom. The voice was his own desires. He could feel himself slowly slipping away into darkness. He continued to fight. To try to desperately cling onto what little sanity he still had, but it was a losing battle. The more he fought, the more the voice laughed in his ear.

_Why do you continue to fight it?_ the voice wondered. _What do you have worth fighting for?_

"I'd rather die than become feral," He replied weakly.

_That's a lie, and you know it. Everybody knows you have lost it. You might as well give them what they are waiting for._ Suddenly, the smell started to fill Keitaro's nose again. Kanon just happened to be approaching the bathroom to see if he was alright. Keitaro, covered his nose, but it was no use. That stench seemed to circle around him. _You know what you want Keitaro. How many days has it been since you had a good meal? Right outside that door, is all the blood you could ever need._

"Shut up…shut up… shut up… shut up," he kept muttering to the person that wasn't there.

There was a knock on the bathroom door. Kanon was right outside. She was extremely concerned.

"Keitaro?" she said softly.

He could tell that she was upset and he knew exactly why. She still had no clue that he was losing it. To her, she thought that the food she had made for him had made him sick and was now beating herself up over it. But there was still that smell coming off of her that made Keitaro even sicker to the stomach. He didn't know why it was happening now, but he hated himself more than ever for it.

"Keitaro," she said again, this time with more concern. "I'm sorry about the food."

_Aren't you going to respond to her?_ the voice asked him. _Or better yet, why don't you just bite her. Drain her of all of that sweet blood._

The vampire hunter couldn't think straight. He was slowly losing touch with the world, feeling himself being pulled by invisible hands into the darkness. He could hear his own heart beating rapidly in his chest and still smell the painfully strong odor of blood as it filled his nostrils. He had held on for too long and he knew it. Finally, his brain snapped and he let his urges take over. The last thing he thought to himself was wanting to tell Kanon that he was sorry. But now, it was too late.

* * *

So, I don't really know how many chapters I have left in the story but I plan to try and match the last story in length. I have the ending still thought out but I am having a slight problem connecting what is happening now with the way I want the story to end. I just hope you guys enjoy this as much as I do writting it.


	41. Embarrassment 41

Embarrassment 41: Love Bites

* * *

As soon as Elda Marker had left the mansion that night, she had been out searching for the mysterious vampire hunter. It seemed to be one of the main priorities of all the Maakas. Both Henry and Carrera had left for the Elder house the night before to speak with him, while Elda and Karin kept an eye out at home. But so far, there had been no sign of him. This made Elda less than pleased. She didn't like the fact that her family was attacked.

Part of Elda also thought that Keitaro may have been responsible. She didn't like the idea of leaving a vampire hunter alone with her granddaughter. So she kept one of her bats at the mansion to watch Keitaro. If he so much as put a toe out of line, she would kill him without even giving him a chance to explain himself. She was hoping so badly that he would do something so when she saw her bat flapping its wings frantically in front of her, an evil smile crossed her face.

Back at the Maaka mansion, Kanon was on the verge of going to tears. She had been waiting outside the bathroom door for almost two minutes now and Keitaro hadn't said a single thing back to her. But she knew that he was in there, because there was an extremely high amount of anger coming from inside the door. So much that it put Kanon blood increasing into overdrive. She wasn't bothered by that though. She felt extremely bad, like she had hurt Keitaro in some way. Finally the door opened.

Kanon took a step back from the door and stared at Keitaro, wide-eyed. He looked like he had just been through hell and back. He was extremely sweaty and he was clinging to the wall in order to hold himself up. His head was down so Kanon couldn't see his face but she could tell that he was breathing extremely hard and abnormal. But worst of all was that the moment the bathroom door opened, Kanon got a wave of anger that almost knocked her down. She had never felt so much rage coming off of anybody. She had to cover her nose in order to prevent a nosebleed.

"Keitaro, I'm so sorry," she repeated for almost the twentieth time in the past five minutes.

The vampire hunter didn't say anything but took a step closer to Kanon. He reached out one hand and placed it on her shoulder, pushing her against the wall. She couldn't help but notice that his grip was extremely strong and his nails started digging into her back, causing a slight amount of pain.

"Kei-Keitaro," she said softly, slightly scared. "What happened to you?"

Finally, her boyfriend raised his head, and it sent a chill down her spine. Keitaro's eyes were blood red and his fangs were bared. He stared at Kanon as if he didn't know who she was. Like she was nothing but a meal. Kanon didn't know the man she was looking at. She tried to squirm out of his grip but he pinned her up against the wall using both hands.

"Keitaro, please," she said, extremely scared now.

He didn't seem to hear her. Instead he leaned in extremely close to her neck and took a deep whiff of her blood. Kanon was shaking extremely hard but she finally stopped struggling in Keitaro's grasp. Closing her eyes tightly, she allowed the tears to flow out. She then tilted her head, allowing access to her neck.

"I'm sorry, Keitaro," she muttered again, crying silently.

Kanon finally understood what was going on and it all made sense. She could feel Keitaro's breathing close to her exposed neck as he continued to intake her scent. Even though she was extremely scared, she held still for him, knowing what he was about to do. But she wasn't scared for herself. She was scared for him.

"You should have told me this was happening," she said softly in his ear.

The young half-vampire waited for what seemed like an eternity as Keitaro's fangs came close to her. But just as he was about to sink his teeth into her soft flesh, the vampire hunter was suddenly thrown off of Kanon and down the hall. Kanon turned quickly to see Elda Marker standing at the front door, holding up a glowing hand. Her eyes were filled with rage.

"How dare you try and sink your fangs into my granddaughter," she hissed. Just by moving her hand, Keitaro was slammed up against the wall then sent hurtling towards the ceiling. "I should have never trusted you, Vampire Hunter."

"Great Grandma, stop!" Kanon yelled, running up to her. "He didn't mean it!"

Elda didn't pay attention to Kanon and threw the Vampire Hunter into the ceiling, knocking him unconscious, before tossing him to the floor again like a ragdoll. She wasn't about to let the half-vampire take control now.

"Grandma, please stop!" Kanon cried, tugging on Elda's arm.

She couldn't bear to see her boyfriend being treated this way.

"Kanon, let go of me," she ordered. She briefly let go of the half-vampire and pushed her granddaughter to the side, before walking down the hallway and kicking the unconscious Keitaro in the gut twice. "I warned you, you stupid Hunter. You harm my family in any way and I will rip you limb from limb."

Kanon was in shock. She knew that there was nothing that she could say to convince her great grandma, but she also knew that Keitaro didn't mean to do anything wrong. She just couldn't stand seeing him get hurt by her. But before she could do anything, somebody else stepped in.

"Leave him alone, Grandma," a voice said from behind Kanon.

Both Elda and Kanon turned around to see Anju standing in the doorway. She was carrying Boogie in her arms and had two bats on her shoulders.

"Grandma," Anju repeated darkly, "leave Keitaro alone."

Elda stopped torturing the vampire hunter and turned to face Anju. "Don't stick up for him, Anju. This piece of filth deserves to die. If I wouldn't have come…"

"I know what the hunter did," Anju said, walking slowly towards her. "But you can't hurt him. The hunter is one of the family."

"This boy is not part of my family," Elda said, kicking him in the gut once more. "Besides, he has gone feral. He is too dangerous to be kept alive."

"I'm warning you, Grandma," Anju warned, her eyes going dark red. "If you hurt Keitaro Cross, I will not forgive you."

Elda glared at her grandchild. She didn't like being threatened, but she didn't want to start fights with her family. She caught a glance at Kanon who was still crying in the corner and her anger faded slightly. After giving one last sharp blow at the vampire hunter, she pushed angrily past Anju and went downstairs to her coffin.

_"About time that old bag of bones listened to her family,"_ Boogie teased.

Kanon watched her grandma disappear down in the basement and tried to run down the hall to Keitaro. However Anju blocked her way.

"Cousin," Anju said calmly. "Please do me a favor and go to your room for a bit."

"But…" Kanon started.

"I won't hurt him. It's not safe for you to be around him right now."

Kanon gave one last sad glance at her boyfriend and went up the stairs to her own bedroom, leaving Anju alone in the hall with the vampire hunter.

_"You know,"_ Boogie said, _"the crazy lady is right. It's not safe for a feral vampire to be in this house. You really should have let her just kill him."_

"Boogie, stop talking," Anju ordered.

Meanwhile, Keitaro had no clue what was going on or what had just happened. His mind had been blank the entire time. But for the first time in a long while, there was no pain. He felt at peace within the darkness. Almost as if he could finally think straight. But all he could think about was Kanon. Even in the emptiness of his mind, he could feel Kanon's presence. He suddenly was reminded of why he had been holding on for as long as he did. It was because of her. Many memories of seeing her smiling face kept flooding into his mind. If he could he would be crying now.

The next thing he knew, he was waking up in a dark room. He felt like complete shit, but waking up let him know he was still alive. Everything that had just happened felt like nothing more than a really bad dream. But the moment he awoke and saw both Anju and Tohru sitting over him, he knew something bad had happened.

_"Look whose back from the dead,"_ Boogie immediately teased when Keitaro sat up slowly.

Keitaro was surprised to find that he was still in the Maaka mansion, though he couldn't remember what had happened before. He was on the family room couch and both Anju and Tohru were with him. He did happen to notice that Tohru's arm was bandaged up. There was a distinctive taste of blood in Keitaro's mouth and he could see three bottles on the coffee table in front of him.

"What happened," he wondered, feeling like he had just ran head on with a brick wall.

"Would you like the long version or the short one?" Tohru asked. Keitaro didn't laugh at the joke. "You lost it back there and tried to bite Kanon. If Anju wouldn't have saved you from Great Grandma, you'd probably be dead right now."

Keitaro glanced over to Anju who was sitting silently in the chair with Boogie on her lap. He thought about saying thank you. But when he opened his mouth, only one question came to mind. "Why did you help me?"

_"That's a good question, Girly,"_ Boogie agreed. _"Why did you save him?"_

"I owed you one, Hunter," Anju replied. "You would have done the same for me."

"I guess I should say thank you then," he said, giving a weak smile and sitting up fully. "I still can't believe that I'm alive."

"I told you to continually drink blood, Stupid," Tohru said. "You are lucky that somebody stopped you before you attacked Kanon."

"Why does it even matter anymore," he wondered. "I can barely survive as it is. I can't keep doing this."

"Tch. Will you stop whining. Did you already forget why you are trying to hold on?" Tohru pointed upstairs. "That girl upstairs doesn't care that you are going feral. She was willing to give up her own life just so that you could drink her blood. She's been upstairs for the past two hours, crying because she is afraid you died. Before you think about killing yourself already, why don't you go and talk to her first."

"She… did all that… for me?"

"You really don't know how much she cares about you, do you?" Tohru wondered.

"Hunter," Anju said, "go talk to her. You need to tell her the truth now."

Keitaro sighed, staring up at the ceiling. It was going to be very hard explaining everything to Kanon. He had a feeling that it wasn't going to go very well. Tonight just didn't seem to be his night.

* * *

Second chapter of the night. Hope you enjoy it and see you soon with the next one.


	42. Embarrassment 42

Embarrassment 42: The Truth

* * *

The past two hours didn't go by too smoothly for Kanon. She had been lying in her bed staring out the window, letting the silent tears stream down her face. For all she knew, Keitaro could be dead right now, and there was nothing she could do about it. It was even worse than that. She was the one who had set him off just by being near him. She couldn't even leave her room to go see him because he might try attacking her again.

"Please," she whispered. "Please don't let Keitaro die. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't be with him anymore."

In her mind, the scene from earlier kept playing out. She would have been willing to give her blood to him. It was her fault that he was like that anyways. She could just see the pained look in his eyes.

Finally, at a little past midnight, there was a soft knock at the door of her room. She quickly sat up in her bed, wiping her eyes to see Keitaro standing in the doorway. He still looked like he was in great pain but the gentle look in his eyes told her that it was truly him. Seeing him in this state brought more tears to her eyes. Unable to hold back, she got out of the bed and ran over to him, wrapping her arms around his back and crying.

Keitaro didn't know how to respond at first. He couldn't help but feel guilty for what he had tried to do to her earlier, even if he had no control over his actions. He had let his urges take over once again and hurt the one that he loved most. But through her tears, he could hear her saying sorry over and over to him instead of the other way around. It made the vampire hunter confused.

"Why…" he said slowly. "Why are you apologizing to me? I should be the one saying sorry to you."

"It was my fault you lost control, Keitaro," Kanon said sadly. "I know it wasn't your fault."

Keitaro gently pushed her off him and took a step back, staring down at the floor. "You're wrong. I should have been able to control myself. It wasn't supposed to be this way."

"Keitaro," Kanon said softly. She looked at him concerned. "Why didn't you tell me you were having problems?"

"I- I didn't want to worry you," he replied truthfully. "I thought that maybe if I ignored it, then maybe it would go away. I'm sorry Kanon."

Kanon was silent. In truth, she wasn't angry with Keitaro that he didn't tell her. She understood the pain that he must be going through. But that didn't change the fact that she wanted to do everything in her power to help him.

"What are we going to do now?" she wondered, wiping the tears out of her eyes.

"We?"

She smiled. "Of course. I'm not about to let you deal with this by yourself. You're my boyfriend, Keitaro."

He just shook his head before sliding down the wall to the floor. "You don't get it. In a few days, I will probably snap for good. Drinking blood can only keep me sane for so long. I don't want to hurt you Kanon."

"I know you wouldn't hurt me," she tried to say.

But he cut her off. "How do you know that? A few hours ago, I didn't even know who I was."

"But you are okay now, aren't you?" She sighed and took a seat right next to him on the wall, resting her head on his arm. "I trust you, Keitaro. Whatever happens, I want to be there with you till the end."

Keitaro never expected for Kanon to be okay with this. If he would have bitten her two hours ago, he would have never lived it down. But she was acting like it was nothing. Like this was something that would be forgotten in a week.

"There is a festival on Wednesday," Kanon said, breaking the silence after a bit. "I was hoping that you would go with me. Maybe it would get your mind off of all of this."

Keitaro was silent at first. There was a reason why Kanon was asking this of him now. It was because, deep down, she knew that she wouldn't be able to be with him forever. It took all of her strength not to start crying again. She knew what all this meant and had feared this ever since Keitaro told her about half vampires going feral. If she couldn't be with him forever, she wanted at least one last happy night with him.

On Keitaro's side, he was already contemplating ending it tonight. This was supposed to be his last talk with her. He knew how dangerous it was being near her now and didn't want to lose control again. But the way Kanon requested this of him made it hard for him to say no. He didn't want to leave her on a bad note.

"I'd love to," he said finally.

"Thank you."

Not much else was said between the two of them. Keitaro lost track of how long he sat up against the wall with Kanon. But he didn't care. This was the longest time in a while that they were able to be happy together. At this moment, the only thing that mattered was being together. Kanon fell asleep in his arms, listening to the gentle rhythm of his heart beat. She wished that all of this was just a bad dream. That when she opened her eyes again, everything would be okay again.

A little bit later in the night, Keitaro could hear yelling downstairs. Karin, Ren, and Bridget had came home to find out from Elda what had happened. She couldn't believe that Keitaro would even have the balls to remain in the house after what had happened. There was a lot of mixed reaction to the news. Keitaro could only hear muffled voices, but he was still curious as to what they were saying. Besides, he had to tell the rest of the family the truth.

Being as careful as he could, so not to wake Kanon, he picked her up a brought her over to her bed and tucked her in. He was surprised by how light she was and she didn't wake once. Before he left the room, he gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead and whispered that he was sorry for everything. Not once, did Kanon stir. She seemed so peaceful for once.

Almost the entire Maaka clan, save for Carrera and Henry who were still at the Elder house, was in the living room. The moment that Keitaro showed his face in the doorway, he could feel the piercing stares of Elda and Bridget.

"I feel like I have some explaining to do," he said.

It was very hard explaining to six vampires what had happened. But he took his time and told them everything. The whole time, Elda stared at him as if she would leap out of the chair and kill him. Karin looked about as concerned as Kanon had been. Ren and Anju looked like they could care less. Only Tohru seemed to be on Keitaro's side. When he finished his story, Elda was the first to talk.

"You should consider yourself the luckiest person in the world right now," she started. "Lucky that Kanon is still willing to stick up for you even now. That's why I won't kill you."

"Thank…" Keitaro started.

"But I want you to leave this house and never show your face again," she continued. Keitaro immediately shut his mouth. "I won't allow you to be anywhere near Kanon in the state you are in."

"Wait a minute," Tohru said, stepping in. "Keitaro has been watching over Kanon for over a year now. We need him around."

Elda stared hard at him. "Honestly, Tohru, you don't even have a say in this. Now I may not know why you all trust him so much. But the fact still remains that he is a vampire hunter and a half-vampire who is going feral. I will not allow my family to be put in danger by him being around."

"Tch, like you really care about this family," Tohru said angrily.

"Tohru!" his mother said in shock.

But he didn't care, he stood his ground. "All you care about is getting rid of Keitaro. You haven't been around for months, and suddenly you think you know what is best for this family?"

"That's enough, Tohru," Keitaro said finally. He stood up and bowed before the family. "If you really want me to disappear, I will. Elda is right. I don't want to see Kanon hurt because of my problems."

He paused long enough to look around the room to all the faces before walking out of the room. Tohru glared at Elda for a moment before running out of the room to stop him.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" he wondered angrily.

Keitaro stopped walking but he didn't turn around to face Tohru. "I'm doing what is best for the family."

"You're an idiot, that's what you are. You didn't even try to put up a fight."

"Stop trying to look out for me, Tohru," Keitaro said angrily, still keeping his head towards the floor. "You know just as well as I do that I can't be with Kanon forever. And you don't need me to protect her anymore. My job is done."

"So that's all it was then," he commented. "Just a job? You're so full of bullshit. Ever since you realized you were going feral, you've done nothing but complained. You've lied to the people you cared about, gave up on your job, and thought about killing yourself. But from what I can see, you are still alive and still sane."

"Yeah… For how much longer? What is the point in trying to deny what I am anymore? I don't want to play this game anymore… I'm done." He continued for the door and turned to Tohru one last time. "Tell Kanon I'm sorry…for everything."

As Keitaro shut the door and walked down the path to the Maaka barrier, he felt a bad sense of dejavu. So this wasn't the best way to end things, and when Kanon woke up, she would probably cry. But in the end, he knew this was best for her.

Tohru thought about chasing him down. But he knew nothing would change Keitaro's mind. He was so distracted that he didn't realize that Anju came up beside him looking at him confused.

"Brother," she said stoically, "Why are you going to such lengths for the hunter."

"Because," Tohru started, "It's my job."

* * *

I got to say, this chapter has got to be one of those that I didn't enjoy and part of me didn't want to post this. However I think it was needed to push the story along. Please R&R and tell me your personal opinion. I also want to put out a small poll. If you could choose, what should Keitaro do?


	43. Embarrassment 43

Embarrassment 43: Comfort

* * *

By the time Kanon woke up, it was noon, Monday morning. Everything that had happened the night before seemed like nothing more than a bad dream to her. But it didn't take long till the memories started flooding back. That's when she realized that Keitaro wasn't in her room with her. She figured that he left early in the night after she fell asleep. But that didn't stop her from worrying about him. She had no clue that Keitaro had left for good.

The day started off as normal as ever and since it was the middle of the day, Kanon was the only person awake in the mansion. Elda had gotten into an argument with Tohru after Keitaro had left last night and went to bed early. Tohru was the first person to ever talk back to her, but he had his reasons for needing Keitaro around. He was not afraid of what Elda could and might do to him.

"You don't care about anybody's feelings but yourself, do you?" he had said angrily to her, after entering back into the family room. "Keitaro has done so much for our family. The least we can do is help him?"

Elda glared him down, getting to her feet and crossing the room to him. Without warning, she smacked Tohru across the face, leaving a red mark. "How dare you talk down to me. That boy is not our family and never will be. We don't need him around being what he is."

"You are going to regret saying that," he said angrily.

Everyone else who had been in the room with them and witnessed the fight, were shocked. Tohru was putting forth his all to protect Keitaro and nobody could figure out why. He had his reasons for not telling them his true needs for the feral vampire hunter.

Tohru didn't stick around the mansion for very long and left in angry defeat. Nothing he had said mattered to Elda and when Henry and Carrera return from the Elder house, they would most likely take her side. Bridget tried chasing after her son to talk some sense into him but he had vanished long before she ever made it outside.

"Gotta love these family gatherings," Ren teased, getting up to go after his wife.

"Why didn't you say anything to him, Brother?" Karin wondered. "He made great grandma pretty mad."

"Do you really think he would have listened to me?" he said. "Besides, I raised the boy well. He knows what he is doing…. See you around, sis."

All of this happened while Kanon was fast asleep upstairs. Once again, she was being kept out of the loop of what was going on around her. Now, she was heading into work in a cheerful mood, thinking that all was well. She was expecting for Keitaro to show up at her shop around closing time, like usual. But when closing time came, she started to get extremely worried. Keitaro didn't show up like he usually did. And in the state he had been in last night, there was no telling what trouble he might have been in.

She thought about pulling out her cell phone and calling Keitaro up, just to check on him. But Keitaro told her that he lost the cell phone, so calling him was next to useless. Finally, she decided to wait outside of Hina's Bakery for him to show up. Time seemed to slow down as she stared at every passing face hoping for her boyfriend to show up. She completely lost track of how long she had been sitting out there in the cold. Something didn't seem right about this.

Finally, after almost an hour of waiting, somebody did show up.

"It's not safe for you to be out in the cold like this," the person said sitting down next to her.

"Takeshi?" Kanon said, surprised, when she saw him. He wasn't exactly the first person that she had expected. "What are you doing here?"

Takeshi just gave her a friendly smile. "That's supposed to be my line, isn't it? Didn't Keitaro tell you that I'd be in town for a few nights? What are you doing out here all alone?"

"I was waiting around for Keitaro," Kanon said, continuing to scan the empty streets. "He usually meets me here after work. But he still hasn't come."

"You sound worried about him. He's a vampire hunter after all. I'm sure he's just fine."

"I'm not so sure," she continued. "I keep getting this feeling like something might have happened to him. This all seems wrong."

Takeshi didn't know what was wrong but it only took him a few moments to work everything out in his head. Once he did, a smile started to form over his lips. "Did something, by chance, happen between you two last night?"

Kanon looked up at the vampire shocked that he caught on so quickly. "How did you…."

"Instinct," he replied. "What happened?"

"Well…" she hesitated. This wasn't something felt like talking about to just anybody. But Takeshi didn't seem to mean any harm. "Can you keep a secret? I've been worried about Keitaro for a while now. He's been sick for a while now, and I'm afraid I might lose him. Last night… He lost control… and he tried to bite me…. But I wasn't scared. I was sad. Because it was me who had done this to him. I was the one who caused his pain."

"Keitaro- tried to bite you?" Takeshi said, his eyes flashing in slight delight.

Kanon didn't notice it. "He didn't mean to do it. I know Keitaro better than anybody. He would never do anything to harm me."

She looked up at him, the tears started to form in her eyes. All Takeshi could think about was how disgusted he was for her sticking her neck out for that vampire hunter. He couldn't believe how much she was defending him.

"Keitaro is a half-vampire like you, am I correct?" he said, holding back his malice for Keitaro. Kanon nodded softly. "I heard that all half-vampires go feral in their life time. I'm sure Keitaro is just reaching the end of his days."

"Please don't say that," Kanon said sadly. "I don't know what I would do if I lost him. He's my world. I would do anything for him."

"But there is nothing you can do about it," he said. "You shouldn't worry about him so much, Kanon. He wouldn't want you to do that."

"I know, but I can't help it."

Takeshi was really getting annoyed with all this talk now. "Listen, Kanon, where does your boyfriend live?"

"He has a hotel that he's been staying in for the past few weeks. It's near my house."

Takeshi regained his smile. "What do you say I go to him and talk with him? Just for you. If he really is going feral, my blood won't set him off in any way. I'll see what I can do for you."

"You do that… for me?" she said, completely shocked.

"Of course," Takeshi said. "A beautiful girl like you. I'd do anything. But first, we should get you home. It's cold out tonight, and I don't want such a precious flower getting sick out here."

Kanon blushed, but allowed Takeshi to help her to her feet. She didn't have an argument with letting Takeshi help out. As far as she could see, he didn't mean any harm. And she was still extremely worried about Keitaro's condition.

Walking home with Takeshi was nice, but she couldn't help but notice it was nothing like going home with Keitaro. She liked Takeshi, but she didn't get the same feeling of warmth and security that she did when traveling with her boyfriend. Either way, it was still comforting. Unfortunately, the peace was cut short only a few blocks away from the Maaka barrier. They had just crossed into the park to save some time when they ran straight into Tohru Maaka, who looked like he had been waiting for Kanon. The moment Takeshi and Tohru caught eye contact, sparks flew.

"I'll take her from here, Takeshi," Tohru said sternly. "You know that the Maaka's rule still stands and you are not allowed near our barrier."

"Ah, c'mon Tohru," Kanon whined. "He won't cause any trouble. I promise."

"You're cousin is right," Takeshi said, barely moving his lips in the process. He kept his eyes glued on Tohru. "I don't want to start a fight with your family."

"Are you sure you'll be okay from here?" Kanon wondered, looking to him.

"Of course," he said calmly. "You have a good night, Kanon."

Kanon did happen to notice that neither Tohru, nor Takeshi were smiling at this moment. The air felt extremely hostile, as the two vampires stared each other down like they were about to fight. She didn't like the feeling and decided to go on ahead of Tohru towards the Maaka barrier, leaving the two of them alone in the forest.

"Well Tohru," Takeshi said, smiling slightly. "You seem to have showed up at the right moment. No need to be hostile."

"I'm just protecting my cousin," Tohru said, still not moving.

"Isn't that the hunter's job?"

"He's on vacation."

"That's a pity," Takeshi said. "I was hoping for a chance to speak with him tonight. You know, before he loses his sanity once and for all."

"Stay away from Kanon," Tohru muttered, glaring at him.

"What?"

"You heard what I said," Tohru repeated. "I want you to stay away from Kanon. I know what you are planning and it'll never work."

Takeshi just laughed slightly. "Is that how it's going to be?"

He just gave a slight nod, earning yet another laugh from Takeshi. Raising his hand a few bats flew down to him, carrying something long and slender. Tohru knew what it was as soon as he could see the moonlight gleam off of its blade. It was a sword. The same sword that had cut him just a night back. The bats let go of the sword and Takeshi caught it.

"I warned you not to get in my way last night, Tohru Maaka," he said smiling darkly. "But if you insist on getting in remaining in the path, I'll just have to get rid of you once and for all."

In response, Tohru reached into his expensive jacket and pulled out a small 9mm. "You won't get anywhere near Kanon as long as I'm still breathing."

"We'll see about that."

* * *

If you guessed that Takeshi was the mysterious vampire then kudos to you. LOL. The story is slowly pulling to a close and there aren't that many chapters left. I just hope when it's all said and done, I get some great long reviews.


	44. Embarrassment 44

Embarrassment 44: Part of the Family

* * *

"It didn't have to come down to this, Tohru," Takeshi said, gripping the sword tightly in his hand as he circled the vampire. "All you had to do was stay out of my way. But you couldn't help yourself, could you?"

"Tch, I've been chasing you for this long," Tohru said, smugly. "You must be stupid if you thought I was going to stop now."

"I'm warning you. I have no reason to kill a fellow vampire. You know what I want."

Tohru laughed. "You talk about my cousin as if she were some object that you could just hand away. You make me sick."

Takeshi continued to circle around Tohru, but the vampire never broke eye contact. He gripped the pistol firmly in his hands ready to shoot at any moment.

"The Pushuke must live on," he said calmly. "You know as well as I do that if Kanon doesn't mate with another vampire, the line of pushukes will die."

"My cousin already gave her blood at the elder house. The Pushuke is no longer needed."

"We can't take those chances," he said, darkly. "I haven't harmed a hair on the Pushuke's head, and have no plans to."

"Kanon is already spoken for," Tohru replied. "Or has your small mind already forgotten."

In response, Takeshi chuckled slightly. "Keitaro is feral vampire hunter on his last leg. Even if I didn't kill him, he'll be gone in a week. Besides, half-vampires are sterile. We cannot let him be the Pushuke's chosen."

"You know, I really don't like you talking about my friends and family like that," Tohru said, pointing his gun at Takeshi. "You came here to kill Keitaro and steal my cousin from us. It really is starting to piss me off. So why don't you shut up and die already."

Without warning, Tohru fired off three shots towards Takeshi, only to have the vampire disappear right before his eyes. Tohru had learned this game well. Without giving it a second thought, he dove towards the ground just in time to see a sword slash through where he was standing. Takeshi stood there smiling brightly.

"You learn quickly," he said smugly. "Let's see if it's quick enough."

A few blocks away, Keitaro sat inside his dark hotel room trying his best to remain calm. He was sitting at the kitchen table with only his pistol and three bottles of blood in front of him. His eyes were closed, with his hands covering his ears, as he tried to drown out the voices in his head. Keitaro didn't believe it could, but things were getting worse for him to the point that he had to avoid all human contact just to stay sane. The blood did nothing to quench his thirst. It was old blood anyways, chilled from days of sitting in his fridge. The taste was sour to the mouth.

_This imitation of blood won't hold you over for long, Keitaro,_ the dark voice muttered in the back of his brain. _You have already lost yourself to me before. Next time, I will take over._

Keitaro didn't bother to talk back to the voice anymore. He knew it was all in his head, that the voices were his own. In the few years that he had been a vampire hunter, he had killed a very large number of half-vampires. It was the only task he would ever do. He thought that maybe if he could get close enough to the other half-bloods, he could learn more about them. But he never dreamed the torture that they went through, becoming feral. All he ever knew was that once they snapped, they would attack anything and everyone just to drink blood. But the process of going feral was much more painful than he ever expected.

_Why do you continue to fight the pain?_ the voice continued to whisper in his ear. _The gun is right in front of you and you still refuse to end it all. There must be something that you are clinging onto._

Suddenly, Keitaro heard the sound of the elevator door opening. In a quick motion, Keitaro reached for the pistol in front of him and pointed it at the person standing in the elevator. He was shocked when he realized it was none other than Karin Usui. When she saw Keitaro's weapon, she almost jumped out of her skin.

"Kanon… I mean Karin," he said, surprised, lowering the weapon slowly.

"I'm sorry," she said bowing, "I should have knocked first."

"No, it's my fault," Keitaro said, slowly getting to his feet. "I should be used to vampires coming into my room unexpectedly."

He thought about Anju when he said this. On countless occasions, Anju liked to show up inside his hotel room, completely uninvited.

"I just wanted to see you," Karin said, cautiously stepping off the elevator and into the dark room. "Anju told me where you lived before she left for the night."

"I'll be honest," Keitaro said, sounding slightly winded. "You were the last person I expected to come visit me."

"I wanted to see how you were."

"How do you think I am?" he asked looking up at her with sullen red eyes. The look scared Karin a bit. "I feel like death right now…. How's Kanon taking all this?"

"I don't think she's figured out yet that you're gone…" Karin paused. "Keitaro, what grandma said to you last night…."

"Save it," he said sharply. "She is just watching over her family. And she is right anyways, I'm better off keeping my distance from Kanon."

"That's not true!" There was another pause as Karin walked up to Keitaro and looked at him kindly. "I've looked into Kanon's past. I know what you mean to her, and I know what you are willing to do for her. That's why I trust you."

"Oh… Now you trust me?" Keitaro said angrily. "What happened to a few weeks ago when all you guys wanted to do was get rid of me? Both Kanon and I heard everything on her birthday… before any of this started. What happened then? Did you suddenly have a change of heart?"

"Please don't yell at me," Karin said softly.

"I'm not yelling," he said, raising his voice a little more. "I'm just stating the facts. You could care less about me."

"That's a lie!" she yelled, shutting Keitaro up. "You are part of our family! You weren't there to hear everything! We took you in as part of the family and protected you, just as Mamma and Papa protected Kenta when he was still alive. We trusted you just as much as we trusted our own. I don't care what grandma says. She doesn't trust anybody."

Keitaro didn't know what to say. He had never thought of himself as one of the Maaka family. To think that they had been keeping an eye out for him all this time was something he hadn't expected. But now, all the times he had seen Anju or Tohru spying on him started to make sense. One of the family looks out for the rest of the family and vice versa, and the other way around. Keitaro suddenly felt like a total ass for raising his voice to Karin.

"You said that you looked into Karin's past," he said softly, turning his back on her. "Put you have never seen mine. You could never speak for me, because you don't know who I truly am."

"What do you mean?" Karin wondered.

"This dark side of me…. These voices in my head… they've been with me ever since I awoke as a vampire. I've hurt people. I've killed my own kind just because I was ordered to. I don't want to do the same thing to happen to Kanon that happened before."

"Whatever happened, it's not who you truly are, Keitaro."

"Really," he wondered sadly. "Why don't you take a look for yourself? Take a look into my memories and tell me if I'm still worthy to be part of your family."

Karin was hesitant at first. She didn't know how to respond to Keitaro. He was offering for her to see his past… to see the demons that had been haunting him for all these years. She had to admit, that she was a little frightened by what she would see, but she cautiously placed her hand on his forehead and closed her eyes. Keitaro watched her hand start to glow a pale white light before he lost connection with the world.

Meanwhile, in the city park, Tohru and Takeshi had been fighting for almost ten minutes. Both were battered and wounded, though Tohru was damaged much more heavily. He had long since run out of ammo in his weapon and was using his fists and bats to continue the fight. But Takeshi moved much quicker than he ever could. Any time Tohru or his bats got anywhere near the vampire, Takeshi would vanish into thin air.

Tohru was starting to get tired. He was slowing down from all the fighting, and had many more scrapes and cuts on him to replace the ones that had healed the night before. His suit was completely destroyed now and would be little more than worthless to him. Finally, Takeshi got the upper hand. Right when Tohru was distracted, Takeshi swung down his blade, catching Tohru on the left shoulder. It sliced in deeply and knocked the young vampire onto the dirt. Pain seared up and down his body.

"Did you honestly think that you stood a chance in fighting me, Tohru?" Takeshi wondered, appearing behind the vampire and pinning him to the ground with his foot. "It's a pity that this little cat and mouse game had to end here. But I couldn't have you chasing after me forever."

"You're wasting your breath talking to me," Tohru spat, gripping his shoulder and wincing from the pain. "If you are going to kill me, do it already and save me the torture of another speech."

"Still cocky even though you have been defeated," Takeshi said in surprise. "I wonder, did your family ever figure out who you truly were?"

Tohru glared up at him. "They didn't need to know."

"Oh that's right," Takeshi muttered. "It's not that important is it? I mean, how could it be? It's just a job right?"

"Shut the hell up!" he hissed.

Takeshi just laughed. "Oh I know all about you, Tohru. More than you would ever dream. How about the fact that when you were born, your mother named you Rei but your father changed it because it was too close to his name. Or how about the fact that you let every victim you ever bite know that you are a vampire so that they get scared of you. Or the fact that you fell in love with a human when you were fifteen but lost her to a car accident a three months later."

"I said shut up!" Tohru barked again. "You piece of shit!"

"You see, you've been chasing after me for almost a year now, but I've known about you for much longer. There isn't a thing I don't know about you. And just like your dear aunt Anju, I will let those close to you know the truth about you. I will expose you for who you are."

"So I take it, you won't be killing me?" Tohru muttered darkly.

"If I did that, then your family would just put up the barrier again. Then I would lose my shot at the Pushuke for good. Like I said, I never planned on killing you… yet."

"You're an asshole," Tohru spat at him. "And Kanon will never fall for you."

"Then I guess I will have to take her by force then… Won't I?" Takeshi asked calmly. "But first, thanks to Kanon, I know where that half-vampire is staying. What do you say I go and pay him a visit?"

Before Tohru could respond, a bat flew down and knocked him unconscious. All he could hear was Takeshi laughing darkly as he spun into darkness. Things were about to go from bad to worse very shortly.

* * *

Alright, second chapter for the night. Bassically every chapter from here till the end is going to be a major plot seed. So please please please review and continue to read because I've been waiting to post these chapters ever since I started and I'm excited to see what your opinion is on the story so far. By the way, it's not too late to put in an idea. If you want to see something happen in the story, shoot me a message. I'm always open for more ideas. See you tommorrow night with the next chapter.


	45. Embarrassment 45

Embarrassment 45: Acceptance

* * *

It had been a few long years since Keitaro allowed his mind to wander back into his past. He had built up a mental wall around everything that had happened in order to make it easier to live with what he was. He didn't really know why he was suddenly having a change of heart, and for Kanon's mother, none the less. But in reality, he was tired of hiding the truth from the rest of the world and wanted Karin to see him for what he truly was.

For Karin, diving into Keitaro's memories wasn't like going into Anju's or Kanon's. Keitaro's mind was a twisted mess. She had to use all her power not to get kicked out. What she saw shocked and scared her. She saw the fruits of Keitaro's work as a vampire hunter. The person he was before he ever met Kanon. It was like he was a different person back then. Almost like he had lost himself at one point. So many feral vampires had died by his own hand, and not once, did Karin feel a change in Keitaro's emotions. He didn't seem to like his job of hunting vampires, but at the same time, he never denied any job that was given to him.

Every memory that Karin searched through, Keitaro was forced to see for himself. Looking back, even he couldn't believe how much he had changed in just a year. But bringing back the memories was nothing but painful for him. He was starting to regret letting anybody see this. He could already sense that Karin was partially scared of what she saw.

All the memories had to start somewhere and amongst it all, there was one memory that kept popping up. It was the one that Keitaro hated the most. The day that he fell to darkness. It was at that moment that he knew his life was going to be a living hell and it haunted him every day. Before that day, Keitaro was a completely normal person. It was only a matter of moments before Keitaro found himself back on the beach, with the rain pouring down on his head and the smell of blood in his nose. It all felt so real that he temporarily forgot that this was just a flashback.

It was the first time that Keitaro had ever smelled blood. It was a distinct smell that no normal human's nose could ever pick up. It made the teenagers mouth water and forget about everything else. He was no longer scared of what he was. Instead he was curious as to where the breath taking smell was coming from.

Like a dog on the trail, it didn't take long for him to follow the scent to an alleyway a few blocks from the beach. As he got closer, he picked up the sound of two voices; one belonging to a middle-aged man, and the other looked to be his wife. The two didn't seem to notice Keitaro standing in the alley with them as they continued to fight amongst each other. Keitaro didn't pay attention to what they were arguing about. All he knew was that the strange new smell was coming from the two of them and now that he was closer, it was stronger than ever.

Inside his mouth, his newly acquired fangs ached as they reached their maximum length. It was as if his body knew what it wanted. He quickly covered his mouth, trying to shake some sense back into his own head.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_ He thought to himself, shaking his head vigorously. _I'm not a freaking vampire. I'm just a normal person._

_How can you even say that at a time like this?_ the voice whispered into his ear. _You can deny it all you want. But the truth is right in front of you. Your body aches for blood and if you refuse its desires, you will die._

_This is just crazy,_ he thought back. His eyes were wide in shock at this point. _It's just not possible. It can't be._

It wasn't too long before the couple happened to notice the teenager that was near them. The man wasn't too pleased with somebody eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Can I help you?" the man said impatiently, catching Keitaro's attention.

Still attempting to hide his long fangs he shook his head and bowed before the man. "I'm sorry."

Even with his head towards the ground, he couldn't seem to keep that smell out of his nose. He didn't understand why he smelled the things he did or why he had fangs in the first place, but it seemed like none of that really mattered at this moment.

_That is the smell of blood, Keitaro, _the voice hissed in his ear. _You know you want to taste his sweet blood, don't you. Just give in to your urges and bite him._

He didn't seem to have the strength to shake his head. Even though he hated the idea of it, deep down he really wanted to taste the blood. His throat was dry and even the rain that poured down on top of him wouldn't quench his thirst. He couldn't help it anymore. Before the teenager knew what was happening he was lunging at the man and sinking his fangs into his neck. He couldn't help himself. It was as if all he could think about was how much he wanted the blood. His new instincts just took over.

The man tried to push Keitaro off of him, but the teenager managed to knock him onto the ground and hold him down with little effort. Without giving it a second thought he plunged his fresh fangs into the man's neck, and for the first time in his short life, he got the taste of blood. Time momentarily stopped. It was impossible to describe the taste. It was like no other food he had ever had. It was so warm and refreshing as he slowly drank it. The blood was like a drug, putting him into a slight trance, only wanting more. The man had stopped fighting and somewhere in the darkness, though it seemed like miles away, Keitaro could hear the sounds of a woman screaming.

The whole time, the teenager wasn't thinking about what was happening. It took a few seconds for him to get a grasp on what he was doing. And the moment that happened, his eyes flung open. Letting go of the man, he sat up and realized what he had just done. There was blood everywhere and the man's was staring up at the sky with a blank expression on his face. On his neck was two pin sized holes from where Keitaro had bitten him. The blood that was coming out of the wound was quickly getting washed away by the falling rain.

The woman who had witnessed the entire scene had run off but Keitaro could still hear her screams as if like a distant echo in the back of his head. No doubt, she had run for the police. Keitaro stared down at the man in horror at what he had just done. He could still taste the blood in his mouth. It no longer tasted good. In fact, it made him want to throw up. Things only got worse from there.

Keitaro couldn't help but notice that the man was still staring wide eyed at the sky without moving. It didn't take the teenager long to figure out what had happened. For a moment, his heart stopped. Darkness slowly started to engulf him as he blocked out the image. He had to get out of there. The next thing he knew, he was bounding down the streets as fast as he could. There were tears streaming from his eyes as he tried his best to block out everything that had just happened. But all he could see was visions of that mans silent face and hear the woman screaming in fear. He just wanted this horrible dream to end.

Behind him, the sounds of sirens could be heard as they pierced through the rain. They would be looking for him. He just wanted to get home. It was almost an entire hour before he made it home. He was tired, wet, and scared as he opened the door to the house and ran inside. Unfortunately, the first person he happened to run into was his step brother, Yukio.

"What the hell are you doing home so early?" his step brother said, coming out of the kitchen holding a bottle of Sake in one hand. "Aren't you supposed to be at school?"

As afraid as Keitaro was at this moment, the last thing he would ever do is let his brother know he was afraid. He quickly caught his breath and straightened his face, trying his best to hide anything.

"I was sick," Keitaro said, quickly. "They sent me home early."

"Well no shit you're sick," Yukio said. "Your freaking drenched. It's your fault you didn't bring an umbrella."

"It didn't start raining until I left," Keitaro snapped back.

"Well then you probably should have stayed at school then, shouldn't you?"

As much as Keitaro hated Yukio, for a brief moment, he was glad that this bickering was enough to keep his mind off what had just happened. The good news was that Yukio didn't seem to know what was truly going on. Keitaro wanted to keep it that way. Without saying another word, he pushed past his brother and headed towards the bathroom, closing the door quickly behind him. Yukio just watched him go with a smug grin plastered on his face.

"If you throw up in there, I'm not cleaning up the mess."

Keitaro didn't pay any attention. He had too much on his mind at the moment. Looking into the mirror on the wall, he could see that his eyes were dark red, like that of blood. In his mouth he could still see the two fangs poking out of his gums, though they were now very small. Touching them with his tongue, he could still tell that they were razor sharp.

"How is this possible?" he muttered softly, going over to the sink.

He quickly turned on the hottest water he could and washed out the taste of blood in his mouth. It was like a poison and he wished it would kill him. In his mind he tried to find some logic to what he had done in that alleyway. But nothing made sense. He couldn't seem to shake out the sounds of screams as he attacked an innocent person and… and drank of his blood. It still felt like he was in a nightmare. One that he desperately wished he could wake up from.

The memory ended there. Before Karin knew what was happening, the world went dark and she was standing back in Keitaro's hotel room. He had pushed her away from him and taken a few steps back. There were tears in his eyes. He couldn't take any more. For many years, he had been holding out the memories of that day because it was the start of his hell.

"You… killed him," Karin said softly, taking a step back from Keitaro. She was slightly in a state of shock at the moment. "I thought vampires don't kill humans."

"But I'm not a vampire, am I?" Keitaro said darkly staring blankly at the ground. "I'm a half vampire. I wasn't able to control myself and I killed somebody….. just for blood."

"But… it wasn't…." she started, unable to finish the sentence.

He knew what she was going to say. "It was my fault. I couldn't do anything and because of me that man… he died for no reason…. I still hear those screams every night. They keep me up when I try to sleep. They remind me of what I am."

Karin was silent. She was shaking a little and he could clearly see it. But what could he expect. Nobody should have to see those things. That's why he stopped her before the memory could continue.

"You still think I'm worthy of being part of your family?" he said softly. "I'm a danger to everyone around me, including your daughter. I don't want the same thing to happen to her that happened to that family."

"But…" she started, "it won't happen."

He just shook his head. "If Kanon would have let me bite her yesterday, I wouldn't have been able to stop myself. I probably would have killed her. And yet you still try to take my side? Why do you trust me, knowing my history?"

"Because my daughter trusts you," Karin said firmly. Keitaro went silent. "Keitaro, I don't know what you expected to happen after showing me these memories. It still doesn't change the fact that you are part of our family."

He gave a weak smile. "You're too nice. But I can see that you are afraid of me."

She couldn't lie about that, but she still managed to smile as if there was nothing wrong. "I've always been afraid of you. Nothing will ever change that. But I don't want you to be afraid of yourself."

"So what are you proposing I do?"

"I just want the same thing you want. I want my daughter to be happy. And it seems that she's happy when she's with you. She'll stay by your side till the very end, if you'll let her. But you have to stop pushing her away."

Keitaro really didn't know what to say. The last thing he expected was for Karin to be alright with him being around Kanon. She knew just as well as he did that he could snap at any moment but she didn't care. Either she didn't understand the gravity of the situation or she really did trust Keitaro. Either way, she wanted Kanon and Keitaro to be together.

"You know," she continued, "you kind of remind me of what me and Kenta went through when I was your age. Mamma and Pappa didn't want me being near him because he was such a danger to my health. Even though I knew that I could die just being around him I didn't care. Not being together hurt so much more. I don't want Kanon to have to deal with the same things I did. That's why I am not telling you to stay away from her. I want you to make your own choices."

Keitaro smiled and bowed before Karin. "Thank you," he said. "I don't know what I'm going to do yet, but I'm glad you are still on my side."

Karin blushed. "Please, you don't have to bow for me. It's nothing really. I just wanted to let you know that our family is still looking out for you."

Keitaro smiled. The world was collapsing all around him and he only had a few more days left. But even still, there seemed to be a small light in his darkness.

* * *

Welcome back. I can't say I'm sorry enough times for going so long without posting, especially since I was so close to the ending. A few things happened that I had no control over and I was unable to write for a long time. I just wanted you to know, one way or another I will finish this story, even if you've all stopped reading it by now. Thank you again for waiting so long.


	46. Embarrassment 46

Embarrassment 46: Rejection

* * *

In Keitaro's entire life, he had never really had his own family. His father completely ignored him, his mother had died without him getting to know her, and his brother hated him. So he didn't really know how to react to the Maaka family taking him in and watching over him like he was one of them. All this time, he had thought he had been the one watching them. He just wished he would have known this before.

"Mrs. Maaka," he said slowly, still unable to give her eye contact. "I'm sorry for all the trouble I've been giving your family this past year."

Karin blushed furiously. "I-it was nothing… you don't have to thank me… really"

Just then, Keitaro did something that she never expected. Without warning, he dropped to his knees and bowed before the vampire. "Please, I beg of you. I know I seem to be asking a lot. But please, let me be with Kanon. I don't want things to end this way."

If Karin had been blushing before, it was nothing compared to how red she was now. But instead of freaking out, she regained her composure and smiled. "Like I said before Keitaro, I trust you. I know you won't harm Kanon in any way. I want her to be happy for the rest of her life. Can you give that to her?"

Keitaro thought hard about it. In the back of his mind he knew that he wouldn't be able to be with Kanon forever, but now it didn't matter. When he opened his mouth again he said, "Yes, I promise."

"I'll hold you to it," she said kindly. "Please take care of my daughter for me."

It had been a while since Keitaro had wanted to cry. He still couldn't believe that Karin was willing to trust Kanon's life to him after what had happened just a night before. But it didn't matter anymore. What mattered is that Keitaro finally realized just how much Kanon meant to him tonight. For the past few weeks, he had been trying his hardest to push Kanon away from him in order to keep her safe. But he realized that what he really wanted was to be with her forever. Keitaro was the one person who made Kanon happy, and everyone knew it.

Karin left Keitaro not long afterwards, after promising not to tell Kanon what had happened tonight. The teenager did have one thing that he wanted her to pass to her daughter though, which Karin happily agreed. As she got on the elevator and waved him goodbye, he couldn't help but feel like everything was going to work out. He temporarily forgot about his condition and everything that had happened in the past couple of days. He was too happy to care and too determined to let it bring him down.

However, what the vampire hunter didn't realize was that outside on the balcony, somebody was looking in at him from the darkness. Takeshi glared at him angrily, gripping tightly onto his sword. All he wanted to do was break in there now and kill Keitaro. Instead, he put his sword away and turned heels, before drifting off of the balcony to a building.

"That idiot," he hissed to himself as he starred darkly up at the building. "They're all idiots. Every last one of them. Those Maaka's are a disgrace to the vampire name. How dare they give away the Pushuke to a half-blood like Keitaro. I will not allow it. The Pushuke is mine."

Just then, he smiled softly. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a cellphone and pulled up Kanon's number. After sending her a quick text he closed the phone and put it away before vanishing from sight. He wasn't about to lose to a vampire hunter like Keitaro. He would get to her first.

Back at the Maaka mansion, Kanon was in the kitchen cooking under moonlight. She was hardly paying attention to what she was doing though. Like always, she was worried about Keitaro. It wasn't like him to not come to see her. With all the things that were going on with him, he had been trying his hardest to spend time out with Kanon. Unfortunately, it had been to no success. It seemed like every time they were together something bad happened.

"Please, just hang in there," Kanon said softly to herself.

"Who are you talking to?" a voice said behind her.

Kanon hadn't expected somebody else to be in the room and practically jumped out of her skin, letting the ladle she had been holding fall to the floor, splashing hot soup onto the floor. She quickly picked it back up and turned around to see her uncle, Ren, leaning on the doorframe of the kitchen.

"Uncle, you scarred me half to death," she said, catching her breath while trying not to smile.

"Tch, you really are just like your mother," he said.

Kanon went slightly red. She still hadn't gotten used to Ren's harsh comments. "Why are you here? I thought everyone was gone."

"The wife has me looking for your cousin," he said, coming into the room. "I should of guessed he wouldn't be hanging out here."

"Tohru?" Kanon said. "I saw him earlier tonight when I was coming home."

"Figures," he replied. "I take it he didn't tell you where he was going, did he?"

"No…. sorry."

Ren just rolled his eyes and started to leave the kitchen. But Kanon was quick to stop him. There had been something on her mind that she had wanted to ask. For some reason, Ren seemed like a good person to ask.

"Umm… Uncle," Kanon said, running out of the kitchen to stop him. "Can I ask you something?"

Ren stopped. "What?"

She didn't know how to say it without sounding awkward so she decided to just come out and say it. "How well did you know my Pappa?"

He wasn't expecting this kind of question. "What's with this all of a sudden?"

"I just… I just wanted to know..." she paused a moment. "I just wanted to know why Mamma fell love with him."

"What the hell?" Ren was completely unprepared. "Why the hell are you asking me this? Can't you ask your mother that?"

She shook her head. "I don't like talking about Pappa in front of Mamma because I know it makes her sad thinking about him. And I would have asked aunt Anju, but she's never around anymore."

That was true. Anju still had been avoiding the family and nobody saw her much except for when she was leaving the house, doll in hand. Ren knew this. He also knew that Henry and Carrera were still out at the elder house and wouldn't be able to give her the correct answer. In all reality, if anybody knew why Karin and Kenta had fallen in love, it would be Ren. But that didn't change the fact that he didn't feel like getting into such a serious conversation.

"I don't feel like story time right now," he said, starting to head for the door again.

But Kanon got in his way. "Please."

Looking into her determined eyes he started to piece together why she had this sudden curiosity. "This is about you and that little vampire hunter, isn't it?"

"Well… I…" she stuttered.

"Tch… Look nobody is surprised that you like him. He's your blood type, isn't he?"

"Yes…? But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Why don't you use that little brain in your head and think for a moment," he said. "Vampires are naturally attracted to the people that have the blood type they like. You and that Keitaro boy are just like Karin and your father. You both happened to run into the one person that had an overdose of the blood you crave. I'll tell you the same thing I told Karin years ago. You should have just bitten the guy and been done with it."

"You don't like Keitaro, do you?" she wondered, seeing the look on his face.

"Hey, you asked me," He replied, pushing his way past her and opening the door. Before he shut it, he said, "Look, that vampire hunter has some problems. But I was wrong about that Kenta boy as well…"

With that, Ren left Kanon in the house alone with more questions than she started with. She wondered if he was telling the truth. Was it because Keitaro had the blood Kanon liked, that she was so attracted to him? She knew it would be on her mind the rest of the night.

It wasn't until Kanon went back into the kitchen did she notice that she had a new message on her phone. She had left it on the table while cooking and must have gotten the text while she was talking to Ren. When she saw it, her heart skipped a beat. She quickly went over to the table and grabbed the phone, hoping that it was from Keitaro.

_Hey are you busy,_ she read to herself. _I've got something that I want to tell you. If you can meet me at the usual spot in the park tonight._

The text was obviously from Takeshi. But Kanon found it so weird that he would be asking her to come out so late. Needless to say, she was curious. She quickly sent him back a text saying that she was going to eat then would come see him in about twenty minutes.

A dark smile formed on Takeshi's face when he saw the text. He was already waiting at the meeting spot when Kanon showed up, wearing a brand new white suit. Kanon was a little surprised, but she honestly thought Takeshi was dressed even better than usual. When he saw her, he quickly smiled.

"I'm sorry for having you come out here so late," he said, bowing elegantly before her.

She just shook her head, going a slight shade of red. "It's okay, really. I wasn't doing anything at home anyways. What did you want to talk to me about?"

Takeshi's smile faded slightly as he stood up and adjusted his suit. "It seems like there has been a change of plans. It looks like I'm not going to be staying in Tokyo for much longer."

"What? Why?"

"I've overstayed my welcome here. I need to return back to my own town."

Kanon looked slightly upset. She had started liking being able to hang out with another vampire. "Will you ever come back?"

"I don't really know," he said, stoically. "I don't really see a reason too."

"Of course you do," Kanon teased him. "You can come back and see me. I like spending time with you."

Takeshi just smiled. "That's the reason I had you come back out here tonight. I'd like you to come with me."

"What….?"

She was unsure if she heard him correctly. But then he got down on one knee and she was speechless.

"Kanon Usui, these past few nights have been the most amazing," he said, taking her hand in his. "I have never met a girl quite like you. You are beautiful and so kind. I want you to come with me."

"You know I can't do that," Kanon said, trying to keep herself from tearing up. "I like you and all… but I'm with Keitaro."

"Kanon, you know just as well as I do that you'll never be able to be with him forever. I know how much you care about him, but it has to end sometime. Look at who you are. You are the Pushuke. A princess amongst the vampires. Keitaro is just a vampire hunter on his last leg…."  
"Don't say that," Kanon said softly, taking her hand out of his. "I don't like it when people talk about him like that…."

Takeshi looked at her, putting on his best apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. But you have to understand, he is going to snap eventually. Then what are you going to do."

"I don't believe that…." Kanon said, still in a hushed tone. She was talking more to herself than him. "I believe that he can make it through this."

Takeshi smiled and stood back up, placing his hand on her shoulder. "And what are you going to do if he does go? You do know that right now, majority of the vampire clans out there would give their right arms just to be with you. The only reason that they leave you alone is because you are with him. Once he is gone, they will come for your hand in marriage just like they do, your aunt."

Kanon took a step back, her eyes going wide. "I would never…"

"You won't have much of a say. You are the Pushuke after all. Of all the vampires, you won't be allowed to stay single. The other clans will force your family to give you up if you or they refuse."

Takeshi was partially lying at this point, but he was doing such a good job of it she was unable to tell. He could tell by the slight fear in her eyes, she believed every word he said.

"So it is true," she said sadly.

"What is?"

"You only came here to try and get with me," she said softly. "That's why you've been so nice to me. You knew this was going to happen."

"Well… I… uh."

"Takeshi," she said softly. "Tell me the truth…. Did you know that Keitaro was going feral before you came here?"

"So what if I did," he replied. She looked up at him, shocked to see he was no longer smiling. In fact, he looked slightly angry. "This isn't about Keitaro. This is about you. It has always been about you. I thought you liked me."

"I did… do," she said. "But you knew I was with Keitaro. I could have never fallen in love with you."

"The Pushuke has no right to be in love with a vampire hunter," he said darkly. "You really do have no common sense, do you? None of your family does. I'm trying so hard to protect you from the other vampire clans. I'm offering my hand over to you after spending so much time with you. Why do you still stick up for him?"

"Because I love him," Kanon said louder. "I'm sorry, Takeshi. I don't know what you expected from me. Like I said, I really do like you. But I would never be able to give up Keitaro for you."

Takeshi glared at her. It wasn't as though he hadn't expected this to be her answer. Tohru had been right from the start. It didn't matter how nice he was to her. She would never give up on the vampire hunter. It was that thought that pissed Takeshi off the most. He was losing to his biggest enemy.

"Is this really your choice?" he asked darkly, completely cutting his sappy manner. "You really going to choose him over me?"

Kanon nodded. "I'm sorry, Takeshi. I didn't expect things to be like this…. I… I have to go."

Before another word could be said, Kanon was off down the trail. She wanted desperately to keep herself from crying. Deep down, she had known that Takeshi was trying to hit on her. But she was so nice that she did her best to ignore it. She didn't want it to end this way. But what else could she say to him?

But what she didn't know was that Takeshi had a smile on his face. This wasn't the last time Kanon would see him. Even better, was that thanks to Karin and Keitaro, he now knew the perfect time and place to act.

* * *

I'm so close to finishing the story that I can almost taste it. I just hope it all goes to plan. Please R&R


	47. Embarrassment 47

Embarrassment 47: A Moment of Bliss

* * *

Even though Kanon had denied Takeshi's request she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. She knew that what he was saying was true but that didn't matter. She could bear to think about losing Keitaro, especially at a time like this. She still had the hope that there was some way things could go back to the way they were before all this started. But even now, that hope was drifting into the shadows.

When she arrived back at the Maaka mansion later that night she decided to keep what had happened quiet from the rest of her family. The Maakas were still slightly on edge at the moment, after what had happened a night ago. She was surprised when she got to the top of the hill to see that her mother was waiting for her. The news that Karin had for her made her completely forget about Takeshi.

"I happened to run into Keitaro while out feeding tonight," Karin said, trying to do her best lie.

Kanon face immediately lit up. "Really? You saw him? How is he?"

"He seems to be doing a lot better. He wanted me to tell you that he still plans on going to the festival on Wednesday."

She smiled even more. "I'm glad. I thought he may have forgotten."

Karin just shook her head. "He wouldn't miss an opportunity like this. But he also said that he won't be able to see you until then. He seemed really busy and I think he has some things he has to take care of before then. But he promised that he would meet you in the park before the festival."

Seeing her daughter's smile made Karin feel so much better. It was obvious how much Kanon cared about Keitaro. But she was still slightly surprised when her daughter came up to her and hugged her.

"Thank you, Mamma," she said brightly.

Karin just smiled warmly back. "Anything for you."

Kanon couldn't have been happier to get the news that not only was Keitaro still doing okay, but the plan for them to go to the winter festival was still on. This would be the first time since they had started dating, that they would be going to an event like this together. She wanted to make sure that the night went perfectly. They both needed this. After all, for the past few weeks every time they were together, something happened.

There was also a good reason why Keitaro wasn't going to meet her at her house. At the moment, Elda was still extremely pissed about Keitaro laying a hand on her great granddaughter. At the moment, she had bats all around the barrier, just waiting for the vampire hunter to show his face. She wanted some excuse to be able to take him out once and for all. The good thing was that Kanon knew the exact spot that Keitaro was talking about when he said the park. In the city park there was a place that Kanon and Keitaro had made as their spot. With all the vampire suitors that had been in the barrier, they needed a place for themselves. It had been over a month since Kanon had been there.

Kanon easily forgot about Takeshi for the rest of the night. When she woke up the next day, she seemed just as cheerful as ever. The entire day seemed to go as smoothly as ever. Work wasn't too hard and when she asked Hina to have the next day off, the manager was more than willing. It was hard for her to say no anyways, after all the extra hours Kanon worked for the bakery. To thank her, Kanon offered to stay until closing time and help clean up, but the manager insisted that she leave a bit early. She decided it best not to argue and went into the back room to change before heading home.

The only problem that Kanon had the entire night was that the walk home seemed to be extremely quiet and unnerving. It wasn't like she wasn't used to being alone. But with the state that Keitaro was in, she couldn't help but be a little nervous. It had been two days since she had last seen him and their last encounter wasn't the happiest. She was half tempted to go visit him at the hotel, but decided against it. She trusted that he would be okay for tomorrow night.

She happened to be a little surprised when she entered the front door of the mansion though to find that everyone was already awake. It was only eight in the evening but she could hear a lot of voices coming from the family room. Her Grandparents had just returned from the elder house just an hour after sundown and were talking with Karin, Anju, and Ren.

"I'm home," Kanon said cheerfully, making her presence known as she entered the family room to great them. "Welcome home Grandma, Grandpa."

"Welcome back, dearest," Carrera said kindly, before taking a swig from a bottle of fresh blood. "I suspect you haven't heard the news?"

Confused, Kanon shook her head.

"Anju is getting married," Karin blurted out, extremely cheerfully, hugging a very stoic Anju tightly. "I'm so proud of you, Anju."

"My little girl has finally found a suitor," Henry said, looking like he was about to break down in tears.

Kanon looked to her aunt, completely in awe. "Congratulations!"

Ren seemed to be the only person in the room who wasn't satisfied though. "I thought you said you didn't want anything to do with the other clans, Little Sis. What made you change your mind suddenly?"

Anju didn't respond, instead she starred down at her lap with a look that said she really didn't feel like talking about it. In fact, the only person in the room who knew the answer to that question was Karin. One look at her little sister and she immediately knew what was wrong.

"What does it matter, Ren," she said quickly, trying to cover for her. "She probably just found the right person. We should celebrate."

Anju looked up at her sister and gave her a slight smile. "Thank you, Big Sister. But I don't need anything, honestly."

"I'm just glad that I can finally call the other clans and tell them off," Carrera replied. "By the way, Kanon, are you still meeting up with that one vampire?"

Kanon's smile faded slightly and she shook her head. "No. He said he was heading back home last night."

"It might have been for the best," Henry said calmly. "I talked with Welsh about that boy. There have been a lot of stories that follow him wherever he goes."

"What do you mean, Papa?" Karin wondered.

"When I heard that Takeshi wasn't with any of the vampire clans, I started to get a little suspicious. I talked with the elder while I we were there and it seems that he has had some run-ins with vampire hunters in the past."

"You mean like Keitaro?" Kanon wondered.

Henry nodded. "Alexander Welsh is good friends with your boyfriend's father. Because of their alliance, it keeps us on good terms with the leading hunters. However, it would seem that this Takeshi fellow has gone out of his way in the past to make a scene with the vampire hunters."

"Tsh, how stupid do you have to be to start fights with vampire hunters?" Ren asked.

"We don't know," Carrera said, quietly. "The elder wasn't inclined to tell us why. But he did confirm that Takeshi truly is a lone vampire. His entire clan died when he was extremely young and he was raised by humans as a human. He does however own his family's mansion, which happens to be not to far north from here."

"I never knew Takeshi was like that," Kanon said, mostly to herself. "He never seemed to have a problem with Keitaro when the two were around each other."

But even as she said that, she started to notice all the little things. Takeshi never really did take much of a liking to Keitaro and always seemed to be asking her questions about him. But Kanon did start to wonder why Carrera and Henry were suddenly so curious about Takeshi. Did they think that he was the one that attacked Anju a few days ago? He just didn't seem like that kind of person.

"Well enough of this pointless conversation," Carrera said, changing the subject. "Tonight should be a good night. Congratulations again, Anju on finally finding a vampire suitor. When do I finally get to meet the lucky person?"

Kanon didn't stick around for the rest of the conversation and headed into the kitchen to make dinner before heading upstairs and going into her room. Without even turning on her light, she lay down in her bed and starred out the window at the moon in the night sky.

_It's like everything is finally going back to the way it's supposed to be,_ she thought happily to herself. _Maybe it's a sign that things are going to go back to normal for me and Keitaro._

She couldn't help but notice that neither Henry nor Carrera ever asked about Keitaro. It seemed like everyone was going out of their way to avoid telling them what happened with him a few nights back. Kanon secretly wanted to thank them for it. She only wished her grandmother was felt the same way.

A few blocks away from the Maaka mansion, Keitaro was walking around the streets, doing his best to keep sane. It wasn't exactly the easiest task in the world and it required all of his concentration to be able to stick to what he was doing. All he could smell was blood in the air and it made his fangs ache more than ever. But nonetheless, Keitaro managed to hold on. He was determined to spend as much time as he could with Kanon tomorrow, even if it killed him. It was that one thought that drove his sanity.

Finally, after what seemed like the longest and most nerve racking night in the world, Wednesday morning came. Keitaro had been out in the streets the entire night, with nothing but a jacket and his boiling blood to keep him warm. He had forced himself to stay around humans for as long as possible without biting a single one. He had fought a lot the entire night and thought he was going to snap on countless occasions, but finally, morning came. He quietly appraised himself and headed back to the hotel for some sleep before his big night.

_Nothing will stop me from being with Kanon tonight,_ he thought to himself as he lay down in his bed.

_That's what you think,_ the voice hissed in his ear.

He ignored it and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

I personally loved this chapter because it sort of sets the tone for the last few chapters. Post a review and tell me what you think and I'll see you again soon with the next chapter.


	48. Embarrassment 48

Embarrassment 48: Taking the Bait

* * *

It seemed like an eternity before Wednesday night came. Since Kanon was given the day off, she tried her best to get some extra sleep for the day, but she was way too excited to even think about sleeping. This would be the first time since she started dating Keitaro that she would be able to go out with him, without some sort of distraction. She didn't want anything to ruin this night.

She wasn't the only one with high hopes. Keitaro had been doing all he could to remain sane for the night. It was far from easy, but for some reason, it didn't seem as hard tonight to keep his thoughts clear. He knew it was because he had a goal tonight and a promise to keep with the one he loved. As the hours ticked by he wondered if he should indulge himself in the last of the blood that he had been storing. But the other part of him knew that even if he drank it, it would just make him sick to his stomach.

The teenager had prepared for this night and had bought a set of clothes just for this occasion. As he slowly put his clothes on, he kept eying the gun that was on the table. For some odd reason, he kept feeling like he was going to need it before the night was over.

_That weapon is looking really friendly right now, isn't it?_ the voice teased in his ear. _What's wrong Keitaro? Can't go a single night without contemplating suicide?_

It was then when Keitaro stopped what he was doing and walked over to the gun, slowly reaching out his hand and picking it up. For the past few days now, this weapon which use to be the only thing he trusted in the world, seemed like his only escape route for the night. Normally the vampire hunter wouldn't leave the hotel without the gun on him. But instead of putting it in his pocket, he walked over to a nearby dresser and tossed it inside one of the drawers.

"You won't get the better of me tonight," he muttered to himself, sliding close the dresser drawer. "Not tonight…"

All the voice could do was laugh darkly in his ear. Oh, how he hated it with a passion.

Meanwhile, over at the Maaka mansion, Kanon was also getting prepared for the night. She couldn't help but blush furiously at the thought of what Keitaro would say when she showed up in her brand new kimono. She really hoped that he liked it.

The rest of the Maaka family had been extremely busy getting ready for Anju's wedding, so nobody had time to notice what young Kanon was up to. But that didn't stop Kanon's mother from stopping by her room. She had just finished putting on the kimono and was about to fix her hair when she noticed Karin watching her from the doorway, with a smile on her face and a few tears in her eyes.

"Mama," she said, surprised that she was being watched. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Only for a minute," Karin replied coming into the room and hugging her daughter tightly. "You look so beautiful, Kanon. If your father were here right now to see you, he would be so proud of you."

Kanon tried to hide her face. "Stop it. You're making me blush again. You think Keitaro will like it?"

Her mother just smiled. "I know he will love it."

"Thanks Mama."  
Karin spent the next thirty minutes helping Kanon get ready. She even helped tie back her daughter's back into a pony tail. The entire time, Karin couldn't help but feel some unhappiness from her daughter. Even looking in the mirror, she could see that there was a distant look on her face, almost as if she was lost in thought. She didn't need to ask though. Karin knew all too well what was going through her mind. It was true that Kanon didn't want to think about what would happen after tonight. But it was almost impossible not to. This could very well be her last night with him.

After almost an hour, Kanon was finally ready to go. Her mother walked her all the way to the edge of the barrier before letting her go.

"Are you sure you don't want the bats to keep an eye on you?" Karin wondered.

"It's okay mamma," Kanon replied. "I'm going to be with Keitaro all night. Nothing will happen to me."

Karin didn't fully agree to the idea, knowing the state Keitaro was currently in. However she respected her daughter's wishes. After giving Kanon one last hug she turned and headed back to the mansion.

Kanon wasn't alone for long though. Before she could even cross the street and head into the park, she heard Nariko calling for her from the nearby bus stop. Turning, she saw her friend running across the street in a beautiful pink kimono with her hair tied up in a bun.

"Nariko, what are you doing here?"

"I was heading to the Christmas festival," Nariko explained in her usual cheerful voice. "What about you, Kanon? Are you going to meet Keitaro?"

She nodded. "He told me he was going to meet me at the park."

The smile slightly faded as she turned to look at the dark forest just a few blocks away. "You're seriously going to meet him in there? Aren't you afraid that you might get kidnapped or something? I know I would."

"You obviously don't know anything about Kanon Usui," a voice said from behind them.

Both Kanon and Nariko nearly jumped out of their skin. They spun around to see none other than Takeshi standing behind them with a grin on his face.

"My dear Pushuke," he said bowing slight, though never breaking eye contact with Kanon. "How delightful this is. You even got dressed up for me."

"Ta-Takeshi," Kanon stuttered taking a step back. "Why are you here? I thought you went home."

Takeshi just smiled even brighter. "Oh but how could I go home and forget the thing I came here for?"

Kanon took a step back, immediately knowing what he meant. Nariko happened to notice it.

"Kanon?" she said slowly. "Who is this guy? Do you know him?"

"Oh, now that really hurts," Takeshi said softly. "You don't even introduce me to your own friends?"

"Takeshi," Kanon replied softly, taking another step back. "Please don't do this. Not now."

"Don't do what, Kanon?" he wondered. "I haven't done anything yet."

It was about this point that Nariko noticed the look on Kanon's face. Kanon was no longer smiling, and in fact looked slightly scared. That was all it took for Nariko to realize that this Takeshi person wasn't friendly.

"I'm sorry," she quickly grabbing hold of Kanon's hand, "but we've got somewhere we have to go."

However, Takeshi stood in their way. "My dear, beautiful Kanon. Don't tell me you actually expect me to walk away while you go ruin your life with that half-breed."

Nariko let go of Kanon's hand. "Kanon, what's he talking about?"

"I already told you how I feel about you Takeshi," Kanon said, ignoring Nariko. "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings but I could never leave Keitaro."

"Oh really? And what say does the Pushuke have in this matter?"

"Pu-shu-ke?" Nariko wondered. This was the first time she had ever heard this word.

"So you haven't told this human what you are yet?" Takeshi said in delight, his red eyes flashing.

"Shut up," Kanon muttered.

"All you Maaka's are the same. You are ashamed of what you are… Hiding amongst these weak humans expecting you will be like them one day."

"Shut up," Kanon muttered again, slightly louder this time.

"But you can never be normal Kanon Usui," he continued, enjoying the reaction he was getting. "You are the Pushuke. That is all you will ever be."

"SHUT UP!" she yelled, finally losing her temper. "What do you want from me?"

"You know what I want, Kanon," he said. "I can take you away from here. Treat you like the beautiful vampire you are. Nobody will ever look at you as a half breed again."

"Vampire?" Nariko said. Kanon turned to her to see her slightly shocked. "Kanon, what is he talking about?"

Kanon was silent, unable to think of anything to say. It was as if her worst fear had come true. Her own best friend was caught in the middle of a fight and now knew what she was. Too make things worse, Takeshi just kept teasing her with it. He was forcing the truth out of Kanon, letting Nariko know her secrets.

"Go ahead, Kanon," he said softly. "Tell this human the truth. Tell her why you are so different from her."

Kanon remained silent, starring coldly at the ground.

"Or would you like me to do it?" he wondered. "Or better yet, would you like me to show her? I'm sure her blood would taste…."

"You can't do that!" Kanon yelled, turning to Takeshi. "Please… stop this. Not Nariko. I'll do anything."

"Anything?" he wondered. "Would you even come with me?"

Kanon eyes went wide. "I couldn't."

"I could erase this girl's mind you know. Make it so that she never has to know the truth. All you would have to do is accept my hand."

"I'd never…" she said softly, taking another small step backwards.

Takeshi walked over to Nariko, grabbing her arm. The girl started twisting in his grip but he was far too strong for her. With a simple wave of a hand, she fell limp in his arms. Kanon watched in horror as he tilted her head to the side, giving access to her neck.

"Please don't…" she said, softly. Kanon could bear to watch her best friend be fed upon.

"Then will you take my hand, and come away with me?" Takeshi wondered, extending out one hand.

Kanon didn't know what to do. She was utterly terrified right now. But above all, she felt horrible that Nariko had been dragged into all of this. Kanon never wanted Nariko to know the truth about her. With a single tear coming out of her eyes, and a shaking body, she slowly raised one hand and grabbed Takeshi's. No sooner did her flesh touch his did the two of them disappear, dropping an unconscious Nariko to the hard ground. Takeshi hadn't even bothered to erase her memory.

Over in the park, Keitaro had just arrived at the meeting spot, waiting with eagerness for his date who would never show up.

* * *

Hey everybody, I can't even begin to apologize for taking so long to update. Though I'm happy that there are more people reading and reviewing, it sucks that I probably lost a few people too. Looks like Marine life triumphs over writing life. anyways, I want to finish this story, so that is what I promise to do. Expect at least one chapter every day until I am finished and if you are still reading this story after so long, please send me a review. I'd appreciate it. Thank you, and once again... sorry.


	49. Embarrassment 49

Embarrassment 49: A Scene

* * *

It didn't take too long for Keitaro to notice something was wrong. It wasn't even the fact that Kanon was running late. For some reason, the vampire hunter just didn't feel right. It was like something was telling him that she wasn't going to show up. The problem was, a feeling like that wasn't an easy one to shake. Every minute that passed by seemed like an hour. One minute turned to five minutes, which turned to ten minutes. Still there was no sight of Kanon.

Over the trees Keitaro could see the faint light of the festival. He started to wonder if maybe Kanon had forgotten to meet him there.

_She__'__ll __be __here,_ he kept telling himself, while scanning around the park for any sign of anybody.

_Why __should __she __come __for __you, __Keitaro? _the dark voice hissed in his ear. _After __all, __the __last __time __you __saw __her, __you __were __trying __to __sink __your __fangs __into __her __pretty __little __neck._

_She__'__ll __be __here, _he told himself again, blocking out the voice. _She__'__s __just __running __a __little __late._

But looking up at the nearby clock in the park, Keitaro was surprised to see that almost twenty minutes had passed. It wasn't like Kanon to be late. Something was not right about this. The problem was that Keitaro couldn't call her up without a cell phone, nor could he go to the mansion with the promise he made to Elda. However, he didn't feel like just sitting around hoping that he would show up.

_I__'__ll __just __go __near __the __barrier __and __see __if __she__'__s __there,_ Keitaro thought. _I__'__m __not __breaking __my __promise __to __Elda __if __I __do __that._

However, Keitaro didn't have to go too far. Just as he was at the edge of the park he noticed a small group of people crowded around something at the bus stop. Keitaro couldn't get a good look at what it was, but the fact that the group of people were near the road that went up to Kanon's house, his heart started to beat slightly faster.

"Kanon," he muttered, quickening his pace.

He wasn't but five meters away when he realized what everybody was standing around. Somebody was lying unconscious on the side of the street. A girl in a pink kimono. Immediately Keitaro recognized her as Kanon's friend Nariko. There were about two people tending to her while about five more were standing around chatting.

"Nariko," he said, pushing his way through the group of people and crouching down by the girl.

Suddenly making an appearance in front of all these people was not exactly the smartest thing. But being an expert vampire hunter he immediately knew what was wrong. Kanon being gone and her best friend being found unconscious right outside the barrier. Unless Nariko was some sort of anemic or prone to passing out this had to be the work of vampires. He needed to get her away from the group.

"Excuse me," an elderly man said, walking up to him. "Do you know this girl?"

"Of course," Keitaro said. He had to think fast. "She's my little sister."

"Your… little sister?" the man said in disbelief. Keitaro obviously looked nothing like Nariko. "Is she okay?"

"I'm sorry," Keitaro apologized. "My sister is weak and has this condition. She needs to be taken home."

"Don't worry son," the man said kindly. "We just called an ambulance. Somebody will be here shortly."

"There's no need," Keitaro said, picking Nariko up. He noted that she was slightly heavier than Kanon was. "I can take her home myself. It'll be quicker."

It was obvious that none of the people wanted to just let Keitaro leave carrying an unconscious girl. They had no true way to prove that he was actually who he said he was. But the last thing he wanted was for Nariko to come to with so many people around.

_I __could __knock __them __out __and __erase __their __memories,_ he thought to himself, looking around for an escape route. _But __that __would __just __cause __a __bigger __problem. __God, __I__'__m __so __close __to __the __Maaka__'__s __barrier. __How __have __they __not __noticed __this?_

Just then, Nariko started to stir. The effects from the vampire were starting to wear off and she was finally starting to come to. Keitaro wasn't the only one to notice it either. She slowly opened up one eye as if coming out of a deep sleep and looked around, still in a slight haze. Even when she noticed that Keitaro was carrying her, it didn't fully click in her brain.

"Kei- tar- ro," she wondered, still trying to wake up. "What's going on?"

"Don't worry sis," he said softly, using this to his advantage. "I'm gonna get you home."

Nariko saying his name was all the proof he needed to get away from the group. He didn't have time to waste and took off as fast as he could before anybody could stop him. He went back to the park where he knew it was secluded. But before he could put Nariko down, she fully snapped back to reality and started to freak out.

"Hey!" she yelled loudly, thrashing herself free from him, causing him to accidently drop her. "What's going on? Why am I in the park?"

"Please keep your voice down," he said, giving her a little space. Now that he was away from the group of people, Keitaro straightened himself up and acted completely business. "Take a deep breath, Nariko, and tell me what happened."

Immediately Nariko went dead silent as she started to recollect everything that happened not half an hour ago. Her eyes suddenly went wide and she took a step back from Keitaro.

"Who… What are you?" she said steadily.

"I don't underst….."

"That man…" she said slowly, eyeing Keitaro darkly. "…He took Kanon away….. He said that she wasn't like me…. What did he mean by that, Keitaro?"

"Who said this?" Keitaro wondered, ignoring her question. "Nariko, where is Kanon?"

"I… I don't know," she said honestly. "Keitaro, you have to tell me… what is going on? Why did that guy say all those things?"

"It's not important," Keitaro replied.

"How can you say that?" she wondered. "Kanon is my best friend. I want to know the truth!"

"Then don't ask me," he said quickly. "Nariko, I know you have a lot of questions right now. But I'm not the person to ask. Trust me when I tell you this that you would be happier not knowing the truth. If Kanon didn't tell you then it's because she doesn't want you to know. All that matters right now is that you tell me what happened. I need to know what happened."  
Keitaro didn't usually act this mean to other people and it had been a while since he was strictly business. But all he cared about at the moment was finding Kanon before something bad happened. Nariko realized that Keitaro wasn't going to budge for her so she slowly explained everything that happened right down to what was said.

The problem was that as she was telling Keitaro the story she started to piece together what was going on. It wasn't long before she went silent again and stared at Keitaro with fear in her eyes.

"You… You're a vampire," she muttered. "That's what all this is about isn't it? That's why you are always up at night."

Keitaro sighed and took a step towards her. "Listen, Nariko," he said sternly, gripping onto her arm tightly. "I'm sorry you had to see all this. You weren't ever supposed to know the truth."

He didn't give her any time to react before his hand started glowing. Immediately he placed his hand on her forehead and everything went black. For a second time this night, Nariko went unconscious. He did what he had to do. Nariko was Kanon's only outlet to the human world and he didn't want anything to change that. Even if that meant he had to erase her memory of the last hour himself. When she awoke again, she wouldn't remember anything tonight. If Kanon ever truly wanted Nariko to know the truth, she would tell her gently. Nobody should ever have to see this.

The good news was that she had told him enough to know what was happening. Takeshi had taken Kanon away by force. Just the thought of that slimy vampire laying his hands on Kanon made Keitaro's blood boil. He had to get her back.

_Look __at __that __Hunter,_ the voice hissed in his ear. _You __failed __to __protect __Kanon __once __again. __That __vampire __knew __that __you __were __weak __and __took __advantage __of __you._

Keitaro had no other choice but to head to the Maaka mansion. He had no time to sit thinking about what to do. He needed to let the Maaka's know the situation. He needed to know where Takeshi was.

There was just one problem. No matter how hard Keitaro tried, he couldn't seem to find the Maaka mansion. He had a feeling that Elda may have changed it so that Keitaro could no longer get through the barrier but he figured since he had been there so many times, that he would at least be able to know the way. Instead, it was Elda who found him at the edge of the barrier. She wasn't pleased to see him either.

"You just don't give up do you Hunter?" she wondered floating down to a nearby tree and pointing her umbrella at him as if it were a sword. "We had a deal, remember. You can try all you like, but you'll never be able to get through the barrier."

"Mrs. Marker, you have to lift the barrier for me," Keitaro said quickly. "I must talk to the rest of the family."

"You aren't welcome at my home anymore," Elda said, warning him. "Besides, the rest of _MY_ family are busy and don't want anything to do with you."

"Dammit, Elda! I don't care about our stupid agreement right now! Kanon is in trouble!"

That was all he needed to get her attention. Immediately the woman's eyes flashed dark red and before Keitaro knew what had happened, Elda had jumped out of the tree and grabbed Keitaro by the neck pinning him against a nearby tree.

"What did you do to my granddaughter?" she hissed, slowly tightening his grip on her.

"I didn't do anything," Keitaro said calmly, though he was slightly nervous. "Takeshi has her…"

Keitaro had no choice but to explain to Elda Marker everything that was happening, while still being pinned up against a tree. He could help but realize that at a moment's notice she could kill him, and judging by the malice he was sensing inside her, she probably wasn't far off from doing just that. Thankfully she left his head attached. After searching his eyes, she knew he was telling the truth. Slowly she let him free.

"If I find out you are lying to me boy…" she said darkly, "If you had anything to do with my granddaughter, you'll wish you were never born."

With that, she turned heels and started to summon down some bats. But before she could disappear, Keitaro stopped her.

"Where are you going?" he wondered.

"Where do you think, stupid?" she hissed. "I'm going to get my granddaughter back."

"Wait!" he yelled. "I'm coming with you."

He took a step towards her but stopped when he saw her glare. "I don't need a vampire hunter to get in my way. This is family matters."

"Look I'm not about to let you go after Kanon yourself. She means just as much to me as you do. So I'm going either way."

"Don't make this hard on yourself, boy," she said pointing her umbrella at him again.

"What is it going to take for you to trust me?"

"Why should I trust a half-blood like you?"

"Because Kanon is a half-blood too!" he said angrily. "You may not like me and want me dead, but Kanon loves me. You seem to be the only one blind to the fact that I'm not the enemy. What more do you want from me? Look I'm sorry I tried to bite your granddaughter. Don't you think that thought tears through my mind every night? I made a mistake. Get over it. But the fact is that I love Kanon, and right now this girl may or may not be in danger. So I'm going to go get her. Nothing you can say will get in my way from that."

For about a minute, Elda just glared at Keitaro, not moving, and not making a single sound. She was in a mixture of amazement and anger that he was actually standing up to her. He must truly care about Kanon to say the truth. In the end, what could she say?

"You want to earn my trust?" she asked, still not changing her dark tone. When he nodded, she summoned down the bats to him. "Then prove to me that you are willing to save my granddaughter. If you really are the man you say you are then you will bring back Kanon in one piece. Otherwise, go home and let me do my job."

Keitaro smiled, and stepped into the cloud of bats. "I promise to bring her back. And I'll bring Takeshi back for you to deal with."

"Promises mean nothing to me, Hunter," she said. "Show me."

With a wave of her hand the bats that were circling Keitaro lifted him up and carried him off into the night sky. Thanks to the elder vampire, all the Maakas knew where Takeshi lived. The bats would bring him right to his front door step. After that, it was all up to Keitaro. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Repost. Had to fix the weird mistake. I'm surprised nobody told me about it.


	50. Embarrassment 50

Embarrassment 50: Beauty and the Beast

* * *

From the moment that Elda let Keitaro sail off into the night by himself, on her cloud of bats, she started to doubt the hunter's abilities. In all honesty, she was more surprised to see that anybody would stand up to her, especially knowing her strength and what she could easily do. But that look of determination in his eyes. She had seen it before. It had been the same determination that she had seen in the eyes of her husband, James, so many years back. The look said that no matter what, he would do anything and everything to make sure the job got done. Nothing, not even Elda would have been able to stop Keitaro from going after Kanon. He wasn't lying when he said that he loved Kanon Usui. Now it was up to how far he would go.

_My dear, weak little hunter,_ Elda thought to herself as she walked up the hill to the mansion. _If you really do think you stand a chance with my granddaughter, then prove to me that you are willing to risk your life for her._

She decided not to tell the rest of the family what had happened. Everyone was too excited, getting ready for Anju's wedding. There was no reason to scare them over a little vampire. Even if Keitaro failed, Elda could easily go after this stupid vampire herself. That was why she wasn't too afraid.

Things might not have seemed too bad from Elda Marker's eyes, but from Kanon's point of view, things were horrible. She awoke with an extremely bad headache, feeling as though somebody had taken a club to the back of her head. At first, she had completely forgotten the situation she was in. But all of that changed in a few brief moments, when she noticed that the place that she was in was pitch black and extremely cramped.

Immediately freaking out Kanon realized that the walls and ceiling were made of a thick wood. She had been sleeping inside a coffin. Taking a deep breath, she slowly pushed the lid off of it to find out that she was in some kind of large bedroom in a mansion. At least, she figured it was a bedroom. There were no beds inside the large room. Instead the coffin was stationed in the center of the room, surrounded by bookshelves and a large fireplace with a large armchair in front of it. There was even an old phone on a desk right next to the coffin, which Kanon would have found funny if she wasn't so terrified.

Looking around the rest of the room she noticed to giant windows to her left, both with large purple curtains drawn tightly so that sunlight couldn't enter the room. It wouldn't have mattered anyways. It was only one in the morning. But having the curtains shut made it almost pitch black in the room, making it extremely hard for Kanon to get a good look at her surroundings.

Slowly stepping out of the coffin, she quickly searched for her geta while trying to figure out how she managed to get in this situation. She was still wearing the Kimono however her hair had gone slightly messy from lying in the elegant wooden coffin. She could remember taking hold of Takeshi's hand, but that was about it. Next thing she knew, she was in the coffin. No doubt, this dark mansion belonged to him. Where he was currently at didn't matter though. She needed to get out now and go back home.

After about a minute of searching, she gave up looking and silently headed out of the room and down a long, dark hallway, which was just as elegant as the room she had just left. If it weren't for the fact that she was terrified she would have been amazed by the sheer size of this mansion. She had never seen such a big house in her life. She half-expected a place like this to be filled with people. But as she silently crept down the halls looking for an exit, she realized that she may be the only one in the mansion.

Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one in the house. Finally after searching for almost thirty minutes, she found a staircase that lead to a large room where the front door was. However, somebody was standing in front of the door wearing a white suit and with a sword at his side. And he knew that Kanon was there before she could get away.

"Glad to finally see you awake, my dear Pushuke," Takeshi said, grinning ever so slightly. "I hope your room is to your liking."

Shaking Kanon slowly stepped down the staircase, trying to hold back the fear. "Takeshi, please…. You have to let me go."

Completely ignoring her, he continued on, still blocking the door. "I'm sorry about your Kimono. If you'd like I could call up one of the maids to fix your hair and dress for you. I will send one of them for your things in the morning."

"Please…" Kanon said again, taking a step towards him. "I need to go home. My family is going to be worried about me."

"Don't worry about them," he replied calmly. "When the maid goes to get your things, I will have her tell them everything. In the meantime, you must be hungry. I'm not good at making human food, but I'm sure I could have a meal made for you in no time."

"Why are you doing this?" Kanon said, starting to tear up. "Please Takeshi… I want to go home."

"But this is your home, my precious Kanon," he said softly. "Or do you not recall the deal you made just a few hours ago?"

"That's not fair!" she said loudly. "Why won't you just let me go home? Takeshi….. Please..."

No matter how many times she pleaded with him, Takeshi didn't budge. He didn't care what she said. He knew that she would be like this.

"You are just upset," he said smiling. "I know how scary it is being in a new place. But I'm sure after a few weeks, you'll come to like this place."

"A few… weeks?" she muttered, even more scared than before. "I… I won't do it…"

Even though she had said it under her breath, Takeshi's keen ears could pick it up. He knew that Kanon was going to shed tears. He would have actually been surprised if she went along with everything. And he knew all too well that anything that he said to her at this point in time would fall upon deaf ears. But still he smiled. Taking a deep breath he turned around and opened up the doors to the cold wintery night and then stepped to the side for Kanon. For a moment, Kanon looked at him in a mix of fear and confusion.

"If you want to go back to your family," he said softly, "You will find a train station just two miles south of here."

Kanon looked past him to the freezing cold night. There was a very thin layer of snow on the ground and she could feel the cold air against her face and bare feet. It didn't take her long to realize what he was doing.

"However…" he continued, smiling darkly. "I will keep your shoes and phone here with me. I need a trinket to know that you will be coming back. I wouldn't recommend going out there like that. It's quite cold."

Just then, out of a side room, a female dressed in an old French maid outfit stepped out and bowed before Takeshi.

"Dinner is ready, Master," she said, before glancing at Kanon.

"On the other hand…" Takeshi said, still smiling. "If you were to join me for dinner, we could talk about letting this woman take you to see your family one last time."

Kanon stared silently out at the cold night knowing deep down there was no way she could walk barefoot for two miles in the snow. However she didn't feel like playing along to Takeshi's game. Instead of following the vampire into the next room, she dropped to her knees and started crying. It had been a while since she had felt so much fear. Takeshi seemed like a much nicer person before and now…. Now she didn't know what to think. But despite the amount of tears that Kanon gave, Takeshi continued to be unfazed.

"I'll be in the dining room if you change your mind," he said, before leaving the room.

He left the front door wide open for Kanon, knowing she wouldn't leave. And even if she did try to make a run for it, it wouldn't be long before he caught up to her. She was smart enough to realize he wasn't about to just let her go. But that didn't make it hurt any less.

_Keitaro_, she thought silently to herself as she stared out at the night sky. _Where are you? I need you right now. Please._

But the minutes passed, and no help came to her. As far as she knew, Keitaro could still be waiting in the park, wondering where she was right now. She only had one option. After silently wiping off the tears from her red cheeks, she got up to her feet slowly and walked towards the room where Takeshi was.

As it turned out, he was in a dining room just waiting for her with an elegant glass of blood in his hand. But he wasn't alone in the room. Around the room there were three other people, two females and one male, all dressed in servant outfits, awaiting orders from their master. Takeshi caught her looking at them as she slowly entered the room, still having tears silently roll down her face.

"Don't mind them," he said calmly. "These humans have served my clan for many years. Unfortunately, I am all that is left of my family."

"What do you want from me," Kanon said sadly, not wanting to take a seat at the table where there was clearly a plate of curry waiting for her.

"Again with this question," Takeshi said, sighing. "I told you already what I want."

"I told you I don't think about you that way, Takeshi," she said, trying her best to reason with him.

"Yeah, yeah, I got that already," he said. "You're in love with hunter boy. I get it. So let's make a deal. I'm sure we can find an agreement somewhere. Let me ask you this; is that vampire hunter worth another person's life?"

"What are you…?"

"I mean, hypothetically speaking. Is the vampire hunter worth more to you than the rest of your family? Or would you be willing to give him up in order to save another."

"I don't understand what you are asking me…." She said softly, knowing deep down she wasn't going to like the answer.

"Well it's obvious that you aren't going to give up your boyfriend for me. So I'm wondering, would you give him up for somebody else? Let's say… Tohru."

Suddenly, Kanon's eyes went wide with shock. In the back of her mind, she remembered a conversation she had with Ren. He had been looking for Tohru after the last time she saw him. Kanon was quick to put two and two together. And as soon as she realized what Takeshi was pulling, he smiled widely and got up from his seat.

"You see, my dear Pushuke," he said, walking over to her very slowly with a gleam in his eye, "I always get what I want. I know exactly what I want and when I don't get it, I find a way. Now are you willing to give up that Half-blood in order to save your cousin's life? Or will I have to send my servant to your house with another corpse for your family to bury in the yard."

"How could you…" Kanon said, completely taken back. "What have you done to him?"

"Nothing," Takeshi replied. "I can promise you that. Tohru brought this on himself you know. If he would have just stayed out of my way, none of this would have happened. However, if you don't want to see him hurt in any way, I would recommend you change your mind about staying with me."

"You're a monster…"

"Now that's not very nice, my sweet little flower," he said, gently brushing his hand against her cheek. "It's not my fault they got in the way. It's you and your family's fault things had to turn out this way. If you would have dumped that vampire hunter from the start, none of this would have happened. But you had to go and make things complicated. And for what? A boy who can barely go ten minutes without going feral?"

"Don't talk about Keitaro that way!" Kanon said angrily.

"All you have to do is give him up, Kanon Usui. Say you will stay with me and I can promise you, no harm will befall your family anymore. Before the sun rises, Tohru Maaka will be safe and sound back at the Maaka mansion. I snap my finger, and all of my servants will go and get him right now. All you have to do is say the word."

"They won't let you do this," Kanon said, shaking through her words.

"What makes you think they will ever get to you in time?" he wondered. "Kanon, I've lived out here for years without your family ever knowing I existed. Even right now, that Half-Breed has spent the last twenty minutes walking in circles because he can't get past my barrier. If I wanted to, I could have killed him already. But because I'm a nice guy, I'm willing to make you a deal. Sign the marriage contract. Agree that you will live with me. You do that and I will make sure nothing happens to you, the vampire hunter, or your dear cousin. Heck, I'll even let you say goodbye to Keitaro."

Kanon didn't know what to say. She couldn't believe that Keitaro was already nearby trying to find her. But if she didn't do something fast, her only cousin might not get to live to see tomorrow. If she had any tears left in her body she would be crying heavily right now. Takeshi was forcing her to make the choice he wanted and she didn't see any other way out of it. Finally after a few seconds of silence…

"I'll do it…" she muttered, letting her head hang down. "Just please… Let Tohru go."

Takeshi smiled. Turning to one of the servants he said, "You heard the lady… Go tend to the vampire." He turned back to Kanon. "I knew you would see it my way, Kanon. Since you are being so nice, I'll let Keitaro come to the mansion so that you can say goodbye. However, you must get him to leave on his own… If he tries anything at all, well use your imagination."

Kanon nodded very softly but didn't look up from the ground. She was nearly blinded by the amount of tears that were pouring out of her eyes right now. She couldn't believe anybody would ever do something so monstrous to her or her family. Just a few days ago, Takeshi seemed like such a nice person. Now she was his prisoner, forced to either follow his will or watch her own family die by his hand. How could she ever face Keitaro now?

After about ten minutes, one of the maids came into the room and requested that Kanon follow her to the main room.

"I'm sorry miss," she said, not sounding at all sincere. "But if you wouldn't have made the master mad, none of this would have happened."

Takeshi was waiting for her in the main room with a contract in his hand and a pen in the other. Kanon only had to guess what was written on it.

"Keitaro is on his way to the mansion now, my dear princess," he said calmly. "I will give you ten minutes to say whatever you have to say to him. But that is all. I would recommend that you get him to leave kindly without disrupting the peace in this house. I would also recommend you watch what you say to him. As long as you are a good girl, Tohru won't be harmed. Remember, your cousin's life is in your hands."

"I get it," Kanon said sadly.

With that Takeshi disappeared into thin air, leaving Kanon all alone in the dark room. She had no clue what she was going to say to Keitaro when he showed up. But she didn't have long to wait. Before long, the front door of the mansion slowly started to open up. For Kanon Usui, time stopped.

* * *

Holly crap. I wish I had never left the story as it is. I just got on my mailbox today and saw five reviews and 6 emails from people begging me to get back to writting. I... Well I don't know what to say, except, I'm sorry.


	51. Embarrassment 51

Embarrassment 51: Puppet

* * *

It seemed that the harder Keitaro tried to have a normal life, the more reality smacked him back down. All he wanted was for his last days of sanity to be spent near the one he loved. But as he trudged through the snow towards the location of Takeshi's mansion, he knew he was asking for too much. At this point, he wanted to blame everyone for this. He blamed Elda for not trusting him enough to allow him to be near Kanon. He blamed Takeshi for thinking he could lay a hand on Kanon. But most of all, he blamed himself. He had been unable to control himself and do what he needed to do. And now, the one he cared about was being held captive, because he couldn't let himself get close enough to her to protect her.

Even now, with the freezing December winds tearing at his face, he felt hot. He could feel his blood boiling and hear those horrible voices within his head. The half vampire had been holding out for just one last night with Kanon. But now he would have to hold out a little longer.

_And what does it matter anyways, Hunter?_ the voice hissed in the back of his head. _Takeshi just proves that once you are out of the picture, Kanon will never be safe again._

"Be quite," he told himself, trying so hard to block it out.

_Even if you rescue her from this vampire tonight, who's going to be able to save her next time? _it continued, sounding ever so pleased. _You can only delay the inevitable. Once you are gone, another will take your place. Who knows; in a year from now, you may just be a memory to dear old Kanon._

"You are wrong," Keitaro replied.

_You know what I say is true. It is your greatest fear. That's the only reason you still cling to whatever existence you have left. But look at you. You have run out of time. Soon, the hunters that you once worked with will be after you. You will have no memory of Kanon or any of the other Maakas._

Keitaro couldn't argue. There was no point to it anyways. As of now, he felt like there was a weight on his chest. The voice seemed to echo through his entire soul as the blood in his veins burned like a fire. How long did he have left? A day? An hour? He had been holding on for so long, but it felt like it was already over. Any normal person would have snapped a long time ago under the pressure. But not him…. Not yet…

"I still have control," he said strongly, as Takeshi's mansion came in view. "You haven't won just yet."

Only one thing mattered anymore. The Maaka family was counting on him. Elda was counting on him. But most of all, Kanon needed him. If this was his last night, he needed to do something to clear his name once and for all.

It all seemed so easy though. He knew by the bats on the trees surround the huge mansion that his presence was known. Takeshi was expecting him, and that's what made him even more nervous. Not even the front door was locked. However, as soon as he pushed it opened, he could have never expected what happened next.

"Keitaro!" a familiar voice said. He barely had any time to react before Kanon came running out the door into the snow, wrapping her arms around him and crying. "Keitaro! I knew you would come!"

The moment he saw her he immediately forgot about the pain in his head and hugged her tightly.

"Kanon, I'm so sorry…" he said softly. "I shouldn't have left you alone."

But no matter how happy the reunion was, he was caught off guard by what Kanon said next. Though she wanted nothing more than to hold onto him forever, out of the corner of her eye, she could see Takeshi standing at the top of the stairs, watching her closely. When she opened her mouth, her throat was dry. And she had to fight back the tears to say what she said next.

"You… Keitaro… you have to get out of here," she said softly, still hugging him tightly.

Keitaro was caught slightly off guard, thinking that she had just worded it wrong. "Then let's go…"

"No…" she said quickly, cutting him off. Finally she let go of him and took a step back. "Keitaro… Please... you have to go home."

"What do you mean…Kanon what's going on…?" At that moment, Keitaro noticed Takeshi inside the house, with a smile on his face. Pushing past Kanon, he let himself into the house. "Takeshi, you bastard, what the hell did you do?"

Takeshi just continued to smile smugly. "Me? Why, I didn't do anything. I do believe that Kanon asked you to go home though."

"Oh don't worry, I plan to leave. But not until I've finished with you," he hissed walking up to Takeshi.

Keitaro had half a mind to start swing now. They were about the same height, and he didn't even care if the man was a vampire. However, Takeshi didn't budge and even when Keitaro was within swinging distance, he remained calm.

"I would watch my next move, if I were you, Keitaro," he muttered, still smirking. "You wouldn't want to make things difficult now would you? I would recommend being peaceful."

As he said this, he glanced over to Kanon, who was watching the two of them with fear in her eyes. She had to speak up before Keitaro did something rash. Tohru's life depended on it. But she couldn't find it in herself to say anything. Takeshi realized this and decided to take hold of the situation.

"Before you decide to strike me, Keitaro," he said calmly. "I think you should understand the situation you are in. I didn't kidnap Kanon Usui. She left you and came with me by choice. Isn't that right, Kanon?"

Part of her wanted to say no, but she had no choice but nodded. When she did, Keitaro was at a loss for words. Takeshi smiled even wider that Kanon was being a good little girl.

"You see, Keitaro," he said calmly. "This is all just a misunderstanding."

"Kanon…" he said through gritted teeth, still not breaking eye contact with Takeshi. "What's going on?"

"What's going on is that she is leaving you for me," Takeshi replied for her.

"How dare you," Keitaro hissed, grabbing onto Takeshi's shoulders tightly. "I don't know what kind of game you think you are playing?"

"Game? I think you are mistaken, Keitaro. The only one playing a game is you. Do you really think if I was kidnapping her I would have let you near her? No, she asked me if she could see you, and I allowed you near the mansion."

"Don't freaking lie to me!" Keitaro yelled.

He had enough of this. Balling up his fist he swung at Takeshi. The vampire didn't even bother to move. It didn't matter, though. Before Keitaro's fist ever landed a hit, Kanon finally found her voice.

"Keitaro! Don't!" she screamed, running up and shoving him out of the way.

Normally, Kanon wouldn't have been strong enough to do anything, but she had caught Keitaro off guard and managed to almost knock him over. Keitaro was shocked. He just stared at Kanon unable to understand why she was doing this.

"Kanon," he said softly. "I don't know what he's done…"

"Takeshi is telling the truth," Kanon said quickly, unable to believe that she was lying to the one she loved. "I came here of my own choice. You can't hurt him."

_I'm so sorry,_ she thought sadly.

"You have to leave, Keitaro," she continued. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you this before… But… But I'm staying with Takeshi."

Keitaro couldn't believe what he was hearing. These words hit him like a truck. He didn't even know what to say at first.

"Tell me, Keitaro," Takeshi said calmly, "What did you think this was all about? Kanon Usui has agreed to be my wife."

"You LIE!" Keitaro yelled.

He looked to Kanon for support, but she wasn't budging. This meant that Takeshi was telling the truth.

"I'm sorry you had to hear the news like this," Takeshi said with false sympathy. "We were going to tell the Maakas the news tomorrow, but you didn't even give us a chance. Being a vampire hunter I'm sure you know better than anyone else what this means."

Unfortunately, Keitaro did. If all of this was true, and Kanon did offer her hand over to Takeshi then that meant Takeshi was officially untouchable. Attacking him would mean attacking any clan his family was a part of. He was using Kanon as a shield.

"I told you from the start, Keitaro," he continued. "That I was the next suitor for Kanon once you were gone. Kanon told me about your little charade at the Maaka mansion. You dare lay hands upon the Pushuke. You are lucky that this is being kept secret."

"That was an accident," Keitaro hissed. He looked to Kanon. "Kanon you know that was an accident. I didn't mean to do it."

Kanon still didn't look up at him. She continued to hold back the tears and stare at the floor. She couldn't dare face him at this point in time.

"Don't worry, Keitaro," Takeshi said. "Kanon forgives you for it. However, as a vampire, it is my duty to protect the Pushuke from anything that may cause her harm. That means you. Now that you understand the situation, I'm going to ask you nicely. Leave my home. You have no place here, Keitaro, and you are not welcome in our home anymore."

"No…" Keitaro muttered, shaking his head.

"This isn't a negotiation. I'm trying to be civil right now. We have told you the situation and no matter how much you may hate it, there is nothing you can do. I will have one of my servants show you the quickest route back to the train station. From there, I'm sure you can find your way."

"I'm not leaving without Kanon," Keitaro said firmly. He held out a hand for Kanon getting down on one knee. "Kanon," he said gently. "I don't know what's going on here, but please… Don't do this."

Kanon knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to take a hold of his hand and run out with Keitaro. She wanted to get out of this house as quickly as possible. But she also had to protect her family. So still holding back the tears she looked up at Keitaro slowly, and shook her head.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. "I can't… I… I made a promise. I'm so sorry Keitaro."

Keitaro couldn't believe he was being shut down like this. Something was wrong and he knew it. But he had no choice. He knew Kanon. She wouldn't be doing this unless there was something really wrong. With that, Keitaro got to his feet, and gave Kanon one last hug, which she didn't even bother to return. Before he let go, he whispered something in her ear that not even Takeshi's perfect hearing could pick up. When he straightened himself up, Kanon was surprised to see he had tears in his eyes.

"This isn't over Takeshi," he said darkly, wiping away the tears.

Takeshi just smiled kindly. "I'm sorry to have inconvenienced you, Keitaro. I know how far you had to come just to leave with nothing."

Keitaro didn't say anything and headed for the door. The entire time, Kanon watched him silently. She was really just going to let him go? Part of her wanted to go tell him the truth. But she stayed put… Stayed next to the beast's side. And just like that, Keitaro was out the door and into the cold night. As soon as the door shut, Takeshi sighed in relief.

"You did a good job, my little puppet," he said, smiling at her.

"I want to see Tohru," she said softly.

"But of course. Whatever you desire."

With a snap of a finger, from the top of the stairs came two servants. One of them motioned Kanon to follow, while the other stayed behind with Takeshi. Kanon was hesitant at first, but after one last glance at the front door, she followed silently behind the servant. As soon as she was out of the room, Takeshi turned to the other one and smiled.

"It's time to go hunting," he said, smiling darkly.

* * *

Yay, another chapter I completely hated writting. I had half a mind to scrap this chapter and change it but I couldn't think of any way to really write it. Oh well. I promise the next chapter is the one many of you have been waiting for. Please R&R


	52. Embarrassment 52

Embarrassment 52: Hero

* * *

There seemed to be a very unsettling silence as Kanon followed the servant down the dark hallway deeper into the mansion. She would have been so amazed by how huge the mansion was if she cared. However, at this moment, all she could think about was what she had said to Keitaro. Even though she was only telling him to leave to help her family, it just felt wrong. Deeply she hoped Keitaro understood the situation she was in.

Somewhere near the back of the mansion was a staircase that lead down into a dungeon like room. The room was only lit by a few torches on the wall and had a very medieval feel to it, making Kanon wonder how old the house actually was. She couldn't help but feel nervous. The dungeon was filled with large jail-like cages along the stone walls. In the center of the room were various torture devices that thankfully looked like they hadn't been used in many years. Kanon couldn't bear to think of Tohru being tortured at her expense.

Then she saw him. At the far end of the room, in one of the various cages, Tohru was chained up to the wall with large locks around both his legs and arms. He looked as if he had been through hell and back. His usual nice suit was torn and stained with blood. His hair was matted down with sweat and his eyes looked sunken. It wasn't long before he realized she was there. As soon as they saw each other his eyes widen with fear.

"K- Kanon," he said in a hoarse voice.

Immediately Kanon's eyes went watery. Pushing past the servant she ran up to the cage and dropped to her knees, tears streaming out of her eyes.

"Tohru…" she sobbed, trying to open the locked door, "I'm so sorry."

"Kanon, what are you doing here?" Tohru said, sounding extremely worried.

"It's okay," Kanon said through the tears, trying her best to reassure him. "Everything is going to be fine, Tohru. I promise."

"Why?" he wondered, "Kanon… What did you do?"

Kanon just shook her head. "I did what I had to do."

Just then, Takeshi entered the room from the staircase with the same smirk plastered on his face. "Just coming to see how you were doing, Tohru," he said cheerfully.

"Takeshi, I swear…" Tohru barked pulling at the chains that were holding him. "If you dare hurt her…"

"There you go again," he said walking to the cage, "thinking that I would even think of harming my dear Kanon."

Tohru pulled at the chains as much as he could. All he could think about was busting down the doors of the cell and ripping Takeshi apart. But he was far too weak at this point and the chains were thick enough to hold him at bay. However, Kanon looked to Takeshi with a pleading look.

"I did what you wanted, Takeshi," she said. "Please let Tohru go."

"No," Takeshi said firmly.

"But you said…"

"I said if you promised to be mine I would let him go," he said firmly. "But until the marriage contract is signed, nothing is set in stone."

"Kanon are you crazy?" Tohru asked. "You can't marry him. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

However, Kanon didn't look to him. In all honesty she couldn't look him in the eyes. All she knew was that family came first. "Takeshi, I'll do whatever you want…"

"Kanon… NO!"

Still she ignored him.

"But you have to let him go now," she said, still blurry eyed from the tears.

Takeshi simply walked up to her and patted her gently on the head. "In due time, my dear princess." He turned to the servant who was still in the room with them. "Once she has had her time with our guest, take her to her room and make sure she is treated with respect. She is our guest, so we shall make her feel at home."

"Yes, Master," the servant said, bowing elegantly.

He gave one last glance at Kanon and Tohru and disappeared into thin air, leaving the two of them alone with the servant. As soon as he was gone Tohru blew up in Kanon's face.

"Kanon, what the hell do you think you are doing?" he demanded. "Don't listen to anything he says."

Kanon still didn't look him in the face. "Don't worry Tohru. I promise everything will work out."

"How is it going to work out?"

"You have to trust me," she said, before getting to her feet and walking to the servant. "I'm ready to go to my room."

"Yes, My lady."

"Kanon!" Tohru said, trying his best to stop her. "Don't do this!"

But Kanon refused to say anything else. She knew what she was doing. She wished she could have said more to Tohru but this was all the advice she could give. Tohru just had to trust her on this one. She was willing to do anything to protect her family.

Meanwhile, just outside the mansion, Takeshi was pacing back forth outside the mansion, waiting for a phone call. As soon as his cell phone rang he smiled. It was one of his many servants calling him with a status update. However, the information was less than Takeshi wanted to hear.

"Sir, the hunter is nowhere to be found," the servant said through the phone.

"What do you mean; he's nowhere to be found?" Takeshi wondered. "He only left the mansion a bit ago. He can't have gone far."

"I'm sorry, Master. We have searched the entire grounds and cannot find Mr. Cross anywhere. There are also no tracks in the snow."

"He didn't just vanish into thin air," Takeshi barked into the phone. "You had better find him. If that vampire hunter returns to the Maaka clan before I get the Pushuke to sign the marriage contract, I will have all of you killed. He could not have gotten too far. He must have known you were following him and gave you the slip. Now find him and kill him."

"Yes, Master."

Takeshi hung up and starred darkly into the surroundings. Keitaro wouldn't be able to hide forever. He was going to make sure Keitaro would never disturb them again.

_As soon as Kanon signs the marriage contract,_ he thought to himself, _Even the Maaka clan will not be able to interfere._

As the night went on, Kanon was treated like a member of the house by the maids in her room. As much as she appreciated the hospitality she was given, she couldn't ever enjoy it. The entire time, Keitaro and Tohru was on her mind. She couldn't believe what she was doing, and still wanted nothing more than to run out the front door and back home. But she had to play Takeshi's games for Tohru's sake.

After a bath in the most elegant tubs she had ever seen in her life, she was surprised to find that one of the maids had laid out three sets of night gowns on her bed for her to wear. Her Kimono had already been washed and hung to dry and one of the maids was waiting for her with a towel while the other was waiting with a platter of food and drink. Kanon felt extremely embarrassed, momentarily forgetting the situation she was in. She was literally dried off by the maid and helped dressed. It was all too much for her.

"You really don't need to help me," she said, trying not to smile.

"Master Takeshi told us to treat you as one of the members of the family," one of the maids said.

Kanon didn't like being treated nicely by the maids and servants of Takeshi's family. She didn't want anything to do with him. She still couldn't believe that he was doing this to her. All she wanted was to be his friend. Why did he have to break her trust and do this to her. Takeshi had seemed so nice.

Kanon requested that the maids leave not long after, saying that she was tired and wanted to sleep. But she couldn't sleep, not in a place like this. Everything was perfect. She was treated like princess by all the servants, the bed was fit for a queen, and she would have her every need fulfilled at a moment's notice. But that wasn't what she wanted. She wanted Keitaro… She wanted to go home… She wanted things to go back to the way they were.

The hours seemed to pass by like minutes, and before long, the morning sun was peaking over the horizon. Takeshi had been pacing in his study for what seemed like an eternity trying to find Keitaro. He was now helping look for the vampire hunter with his own bats. But it was almost as if Keitaro had never even been there. Like he had literally disappeared into thin air. None of it made sense, and Takeshi was getting angrier by the second. Finally, at around 6 in the morning, his phone rang.

"You better have good news," he growled into the phone.

But the person who answered wasn't his servants. Takeshi's eyes flashed when he realized the voice was none other than Keitaro.

"You still haven't found me?" Keitaro said in a dark voice through the phone. "Did you really think I was gone?"

"Well played Keitaro," Takeshi said, smiling. "Next time, I should make sure I come after you personally."

"Why don't you come outside?" Keitaro said. "Then you can play too."

Takeshi laughed, knowing that now that the sun was out, he was stuck inside. Keitaro was safe. "What do you plan to do now, Keitaro? Go home and cry to the other Maaka's?"

"Nah, I thought I'd start by putting a bullet in your brain for kidnapping my girlfriend."

The whole time Takeshi was on the phone, he was having his bats scan frantically outside for any sign of Keitaro or the servants. There was still no sign of him.

"You should give up Keitaro," Takeshi said, still smirking. "Kanon has already agreed to be my wife."

"Yes, tricking her to stay with you by holding Tohru hostage. How manly of you."

Takeshi's eyes went wide. "How'd you…"

"How'd I what?" Keitaro said, cutting him off. "How'd I find out you're a sleazy bastard? That's a good question isn't it? I think the better question would be, do you even know where Tohru is right now?"

As soon as his said that, Takeshi disappeared into thin air, reappearing in the dungeon. But what he saw made his jaw drop. The cell that Tohru had been in was empty and lying outside was one of the servants. Tohru was nowhere to be seen. Takeshi immediately reached for his sword. But before he could even touch it he heard the sound of a gun being cocked just inches from his back.

"Found you," Keitaro said, smiling darkly as he shoved the barrel of a shotgun into Takeshi's spine.

Immediately Takeshi noticed something was different about the air. There was a smell coming off of Keitaro that he had never noticed before. Looking over his shoulder, he was surprised to see that Keitaro's eyes were blood red and he was breathing heavily. Keitaro was on the very edge of snapping if he hadn't already.

"As to be expected from the worlds' greatest vampire hunter," Takeshi said calmly.

"I wouldn't recommend talking right now," Keitaro said darkly, digging the muzzle deeper into his back. "I'm can't believe you actually thought I would be fooled by this act. You did something very stupid tonight, Takeshi."

Takeshi remained calm. "And what are you planning to do now, Keitaro? Shoot me? Doesn't seem like something you would do."

"Don't worry, I may not kill you. But I'm sure the Maaka family will have plans for you."

"Sorry, but I can't let that happen, Keitaro," Takeshi said quickly.

Before Keitaro had any time to react Takeshi spun around, knocking the shotgun to the side. Keitaro barely had time to see before Takeshi's blade came spinning around and making contact with his chest. He tried to fire off a round but Takeshi disappeared into thin air, only to reappear behind Keitaro and throw him across the room into the bars of one of the cages. Keitaro's body slammed hard into the bars and he fell limp at the base in pain. But before he could get back up Takeshi was over him, and kicked him in the ribs.

"You vampire hunters really are pathetic," Takeshi said, sliding the shotgun out of the way before kicking Keitaro in the gut. "You talk way too much."

Reaching down with one hand he grabbed hold of Keitaro's suit and threw him with, little effort, across the room into another cage. But this time, Keitaro quickly scrambled to his feet and lunged at Takeshi, only to have the vampire disappear again. This time reappearing just a few feet in front of Keitaro with the shotgun in his hand. With one quick swipe, the butt of the shotgun smacked Keitaro in the face, sending him into the ground.

"You stupid hunter," Takeshi said, pointing the gun at Keitaro's face. "You couldn't have just let it go. I told you, before. Kanon Usui is mine. You should have gone home when you had the chance. But since you had to be the hero, you can die for her here."

Suddenly, Keitaro reached in his jacket and pulled out a pistol and fired at Takeshi. Takeshi hadn't expected it and the bullet hit him in the chest, causing him to drop the shotgun. Keitaro fired off two more rounds, both aimed at his head, but this time the vampire disappeared from sight, giving Keitaro a few moments to stagger to his feet. He was bleeding from his nose and had a noticeable limp but none of that seemed to so much as faze him.

When Takeshi reappeared he was no longer smiling. In his right hand he was clutching his sword. The bullet had missed any organs and was already healing fast.

"You are going to regret that, Hunter," he said darkly, before lunging at Keitaro.

Upstairs, Kanon was still wide awake. She had heard gunfire in the house and now was extremely nervous. Something was going on downstairs and she feared that it had something to do with Tohru. She quickly got out of the bed and headed for the door when it suddenly flung open, nearly knocking her off her feet. She was more than surprised to see Tohru at the door. As soon as they saw each other, Kanon ran into his arms smiling.

"Tohru!" she cried happily.

"Kanon," he replied in relief, hugging her tightly. "Thank god you're okay."

Looking over Tohru's shoulder, Kanon noticed bodies in the hall of many of the servants. None of them were dead. Just unconscious. Tohru had taken them out to get to her.

"Where's Keitaro?" Kanon asked immediately.

Tohru was surprised at first that she knew Keitaro was in the house but soon realized she had known all along Keitaro was coming back. She knew that Keitaro was going to figure out what was going on. That was why she had kept telling him everything was going to be alright. But Tohru's glance to the hallway told her that the gunshot came from Keitaro.

"We have to go get him," Kanon said urgently.

However, Tohru stopped her. "Wait, Kanon. Keitaro created a diversion so that you could escape. We have to get you out of here now."

"But Keitaro…"

"Kanon, he's doing this for you," Tohru said strictly. "I obviously can't leave right now with the sun up. You have to get out of here while you have the chance."

Kanon however refused. She was smart enough to know that Keitaro was in no shape to fight right now. She had to go see him.

"I'm sorry, Tohru," Kanon said, pushing past Tohru and running down the hallway. "I have to go help him."

"Kanon wait!" Tohru said, taking off after her.

There was something very wrong with the way Tohru had said Keitaro was creating a diversion. She needed to see him now. The sound of gunfire was ringing through the air followed by crashes. She had to make sure Keitaro was okay. She made it to the dungeon just in time to see Keitaro thrown into the far wall for the umpteenth time. Takeshi appeared over him and held him at blades edge. Takeshi looked extremely winded and slightly damaged, but it was nothing compared to what Keitaro looked like.

"Why won't you stay down?" Takeshi wondered, panting heavily. "You really don't know when to give up."

Keitaro didn't hear a single word he was saying. In fact he had partially blacked out from all the pain he was experiencing. At the back of his head, the voice started to call out to him.

_And this is where the mighty Keitaro falls,_ the voice hissed in his head. _You failed Keitaro. You have failed to protect Kanon._

Keitaro didn't even have the mind to argue with it this time.

_You know,_ the voice continued to whisper. _If you would have just let me take over, none of this would have happened. Now, you need me. You don't even have the strength to resist me anymore._

Keitaro wanted to scream out but it was like his voice had been shut off. All he could think about was the pain. And for some reason the smell of blood filled his nostrils. Little did he know the smell was coming from Kanon. He couldn't see anything. He was lingering in the darkness.

_It's over Keitaro. You had a good fight. Now it's time to finish this._

The whole time, Takeshi was standing over him, watching him. Keitaro's body was twitching madly as if he was having some sort of fit. Even Kanon noticed a wave of rage coming from him. She almost had a bloody nose on the spot. Never in her life had she smelled so much anger. It was so intense that all she could see was Keitaro almost as if he was making his own light, so bright it burned all the other lights out.

Takeshi didn't waste any time. He brought the sword over his head. "Time to finish this. Goodbye Keitaro Cross."

With every last bit of strength in his body, Takeshi plunged the blade down at Keitaro. Behind him, he heard Kanon scream out. However, his blade never made contact with flesh. Suddenly, Keitaro's hand flung out and grabbed hold of the blade in mid air, stopping it just inches away from his body. Takeshi looked down in horror as Keitaro looked up at him with those glowing red eyes. Keitaro… had finally snapped.

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Nothing to say but Read and Review. I loved this chapter so much.


	53. Embarrassment 53

Embarrassment 53: The Real Monster

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"Let me out of here!" Tohru yelled, pulling on the chains in the cage.

From the moment Kanon had told him she was giving her hand over to Takeshi, Tohru had been determined to break free. He couldn't allow his cousin to get married to Takeshi, especially not just to save his life. But it didn't matter how hard he pulled. The chains were thick and heavy and even the strongest of vampires would not be able to tear them apart. However, Tohru continued to yank at them until one of the servants of the house came up to him.

The servant was built like a tank and looked like more of a body guard than a butler. He also was holding a shotgun in his hand and was pointing it straight at Tohru's face.

"You should stop struggling, vampire," he said in a deep voice rapping the bars with the barrel of the shotgun. "If you disturb the master, you will regret it."

"I don't care what you do with me. Just let Kanon go!" he yelled still yanking on the chains.

"The girl could leave any time," he said laughing. "You shouldn't be worried about what happens to you. The master will take good care of her."

"Is it alright if I worry then?" a voice said from behind him.

The guard started to turn around, but was immediately struck with a long board. He had only a moment to see that it was none other than Keitaro who had snuck up on him, before falling to a heap on the ground. Keitaro hit him one more time on the back to make sure he wasn't getting up anytime soon before tossing the board to the other side of the room. He then began rummaging through the guard's pockets.

"Keitaro, where the hell did you come from?" Tohru said in utter amazement. Even he hadn't seen Keitaro enter the room. "How'd you know I'd be here?"

"You think I couldn't put two and two together?" Keitaro wondered. "Kanon's body language told me you were here."

Upon searching the guard, Keitaro found a small handgun, which he pocketed as well as a key and a cellphone. Upon standing up to unlock the bars, Tohru could fully see Keitaro's face, and immediately knew something was wrong. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was sweaty. He was breathing hard and in his mouth Tohru could easily make out the elongated fangs. He didn't even have to ask and when Keitaro caught the eyes on him, he didn't say a word. Keitaro was beyond the point of no return.

"You don't have to stare at me, Tohru," Keitaro finally said, unlocking the door to the cell and entering. He started to undo the chains. "It's not worth hiding anymore."

"How long has it been…" Tohru started.

"Too long," he replied immediately in a low tone. He paused for a moment, feeling the vampires eyes on him. Then, without warning, he grabbed onto Tohru's throat, his eyes flaring. "I SAID STOP STARING AT ME!"

It was only for a moment, before Keitaro regained control and he let go of the vampire. But in that one single moment, Tohru knew it was over. Keitaro was already feral, hanging on to his sanity by a mere thread. And the amount of strength was also something to be noted. Even a vampire like Tohru

"Sorry," Keitaro muttered, undoing the last of the chains. "I guess this is it. Tohru… do me a favor and make sure to get Kanon out of here."

"You've thrown in the towel," he said slowly, stating the obvious.

"I'm already lost, Tohru," Keitaro replied. "You have no clue what it feels like… I can hear voices in my head… My body is moving on its own… I know you don't agree with this, but I'm asking you as one family member to another, don't let Kanon see me like this. Please."

Just looking into Tohru's eyes, he could tell that Tohru didn't agree with this one bit. But this time was different.

"What are you going to do then?" he asked hesitantly.

Keitaro motioned to the phone he had grabbed off the guard. "I'm going to buy you some time."

"You can't do that," Tohru said immediately. "You can't take on a vampire in your state. Keitaro… Takeshi will kill you."

But that was the plan, wasn't it? Nothing that Tohru could say would change this.

"She's going to cry," he said softly, before heading for the stairs.

"I know," Keitaro replied.

Tohru remained silent as he moved through the house, taking out the servants as he went. But the whole time, he could help but feel sorry for Keitaro. He didn't want to leave him to the hands of Takeshi. In this state there was no way he could survive. It wasn't long before the fighting began downstairs and Kanon took off down the halls. Tohru could have easily stopped her, but another part of him wanted to help Keitaro. But what he did was the biggest mistake.

Kanon stood on the stairs to the dungeon and watched in horror as Keitaro slowly stood up. The sheer waves of anger she felt coming off of him had caused her blood to rise to bursting point but she didn't even think about it, even when her nose started bleeding. Keitaro's eyes, were glowing dark red and his fangs were bared. He looked more like a monster than a human. It wasn't just Kanon who was nervous, even Takeshi had taken a step back. He had yet to notice Kanon was also in the room. At first, Keitaro didn't do anything. He just stood there sniffing the air like a dog on the scent of something.

"Kei-ta-ro?" Kanon said, softly.

As soon as she said that Takeshi turned to her with a look of shock. "What are you doing here?"

But it was too late. The moment she uttered his name, Keitaro immediately looked up at her. The scent he had picked up was none other than hers, and the moment he saw her, he grinned evil. Without warning he leapt at Kanon with amazing strength, fangs fully exposed. For a moment, all Kanon could do was think to scream. But before he ever managed to get to her, Takeshi appeared in a cloud in front of her and grabbed Keitaro mid-air, throwing him into the wall. It was amazing how fast Keitaro's reflexes were. With little effort he managed to plant both feet onto the wall, kicking off, and lunging back at Takeshi. The Vampire took the full force and was tackled into the stairs. Keitaro dug his claws deep into the vampire's shoulder, drawing blood.

"Get the hell off me," Takeshi hissed, attempting to swing at him.

But once again, Keitaro managed to move faster and grabbed his arm mid punch. With the amount of strength he was using, he was on par with Takeshi and was easily able to pin the vampire down. But Takeshi wasn't his target. Immediately he glared up at Kanon who was just a few feet away. The look on his face scared her.

"Run!" Takeshi said immediately, sensing the situation.

He went for another swing at the half-blood and this time managed to send him flying down the staircase. Kanon didn't know how to react, but she nodded and took off up the stairs, leaving Takeshi alone with Keitaro, whom had already gotten back to his feet in a matter of seconds. Takeshi drew his sword and stood between the feral vampire and the door with a smile on his face and a glint in his eyes.

"I knew it would only be a matter of time, boy," he said darkly. "I'm not the monster, Keitaro, you are. I'm just protecting Kanon from people like you. But all you vampire hunters are the same. You just don't know when to walk away. So let's end this."

With that, Takeshi raised his sword over head and lunged at Keitaro. However, Keitaro's reflexes were faster. In a matter of moments, Keitaro reached out and grabbed hold of Takeshi's throat and lifted him off the ground with just one hand. With his other hand he landed one blow after another right into Takeshi's gut. The force was enough to crack ribs. Takeshi struggled, in his grip but Keitaro just wouldn't let go.

_This is impossible,_ he thought as he kicked Keitaro in the gut, not even phasing him. _How can a half-blood be so powerful?_

The problem was Takeshi had never dealt with a Half-blood before. It was known amongst vampire hunters and vampires alike how dangerous feral vampires were. They had no thought, pain, and limits.

However, Keitaro wasn't interested in killing Takeshi anymore. He had a sweet scent filling his nose. Because Kanon's bloody nose, there was a heavy scent of blood in the air that was calling to the young vampire. Takeshi was just in his way. With one last blow to the vampire he tossed him aside like a piece of trash and headed for the stairs. Takeshi didn't stand up this time. With the last blow, Keitaro had managed to stun him.

Upstairs Kanon ran for the door and accidently ran into Tohru knocking him on his butt. The look on her face was of fear.

"Kanon, what's going on?"

"It's Keitaro," she said softly.

She didn't have to say anything else. Tohru immediately got to his feet and grabbed her arm, pulling her to the door. "Kanon, you have to leave here immediately. There's a train station just a mile from here."

"I'm not leaving by myself!" Kanon yelled.

"You know I can't leave in the sunlight," he replied urgently. "Kanon, now is not the time to be sincere. Go home now!"

He didn't have time for her to argue with him. With one quick motion, he opened the door to the mansion and pushed her out, before slamming it in her face. Immediately, Kanon turned around and started pounding on the door.

"Don't hurt him, cousin!" she cried. "Tohru!"

"Go home, Kanon," Tohru said. He turned around just in time to see Keitaro enter the main room, following the trail of blood from Kanon's bloody nose. When Tohru saw him, he sighed, reaching into his pocket he pulled out a gun and slowly aimed it at Keitaro. "I broke my promise, and for that I'm sorry. But I also made a promise to your father and I plan to uphold that promise."

Keitaro slowly walked towards him, completely ignoring everything he said. Tohru didn't care though. He continued to speak, hoping that somewhere, the real Keitaro could hear him.

"It's nothing personal," he said softly. "I really do see you as one of the family. You and Kanon should have never gotten pulled into any of this. But I have a job to do, and I needed your help. I hope you will be able to forgive me for this."

Tohru waited. Waited until Keitaro was in point blank range, where no matter how fast he moved he couldn't get away. All that was left was a bang, and then silence from inside the house. Outside, Kanon pounded on the door, begging for him to not hurt Keitaro. When she heard the gunshot, the tears began to flow.

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Alright, got something to say here. I AM going to finish the story I just have work and other things. So please stop spamming me about it asking me not to let it die. I appreciate the reviews... I really do. but getting three from the same person on the same day all saying not to let the story die isn't helping. I promise.


	54. Embarrassment 54

Embarrassment 54: A Secret Life

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The moment Kanon heard the sound of the gunfire, her heart suddenly stopped. She couldn't believe what her cousin had just done. Part of her wanted to run to a nearby window and look inside, but all the windows were tightly closed, and Tohru had locked the main door after kicking her out. From inside the door, she could no longer hear Keitaro's growling. In fact she couldn't hear a single noise, and that was what scared her the most.

Tears streaming down her blood stained face, she couldn't think of anything else but to take off into the woods. She couldn't think straight and was letting her feet guide her.

_Tohru,_ she thought angrily to herself, _why? Why did you do it?_

From inside the dark confines of Takeshi's mansion, Tohru stood, still grasping the pistol firmly. On the floor in front of him, Keitaro lay in a pool of blood. The look Tohru gave was not that of sadness. In fact, he showed no emotion at all as he lowered the pistol. Under his breath, he muttered just two words.

"I'm sorry."

There was nothing for it. As much as Tohru didn't want to leave Keitaro laying in his own blood. Takeshi was still down in the dungeon and very much alive. Tohru had work to do. Still clutching the pistol tightly in his hand, he ventured towards the dungeon, finding the vampire scum lying against a wall. His wounds had already healed, but he was still knocked out cold from the force Keitaro had used on him. As silent as the night, Tohru approached the vampire. Without much care, he pointed the gun at the vampire and kicked him deeply in the ribs.

Takeshi stirred awake, opening his eyes to a gun, just inches away from his face. He smiled weakly. "It looks like you finaly have me cornered."

Tohru didn't drop his guard. "You even try to vanish, and I'll put one between your eyes," he said sternly.

"And yet," Takeshi said calmly, "you don't plan on letting me live anyways. At least tell me the bastard is dead and Kanon is safe."

"Don't you ever talk about my cousin," he hissed, sticking the gun to Takeshi's temple. "Don't you even say her name. You are not worthy of her name."

"You get so angry at me, but fail to realize that I am the only other vampire who treated the Pushuke with respect." Takeshi smiled darkly. "Even if you kill me, other vampires will come. As soon as they find out that the Half-Breed is gone, they will come. Some will not be as gentle as I have been. Do you truly plan on stoping every last one of them? Your power only extends so far."

"Kanon Usui shall never be touched," Tohru said darkly. "I will see to that. And when people like you show up trying to force her hand, her family will be there to protect her."

Takeshi scoffed. "You truly are a masterpiece, Tohru Maaka. You protect your family with your very life, yet they don't even know who you are. But don't worry. I know who you are. I know everything about you. I know that you work for cross organization."

Tohru went silent. What Takeshi said was true. Tohru was none other than a vampire hunter of Cross Organization, and a well-known one at that. Vampires were well known to help hunters chase down other vampires. Tohru was no different. When he had turned sixteen, he joined Cross Organization behind his family's back. His parents were so nonchalant, they never figured out where he went every night. The money was used to help support them, but they never questioned where he got it from.

"How long has it been since you started chasing after me, Tohru?" Takeshi said, beaming brightly. "Long enough that you even used your own cousin as bait to get near me. And yet, you call me the monster."

"Watch your tongue," Tohru hissed.

But he continued. "You parade around like you cared for Keitaro. But he was nothing more than Kanon's protection. He protected her, while you continued to run in circles chasing after me."

"I did what was necessary to protect Kanon."

"And yet, you would have tossed her to the wolves if it meant getting to me."

"That is a lie!" Tohru barked. "I have and will always put my family first. Something you would never understand. So don't talk about me like you know who I am!"

Takeshi just smiled. "The sun has risen Tohru. You have a cousin to protect. So finish what you have come to do."

Tohru didn't need to be told twice. Without even a second thought he pulled the trigger. With a loud bang all of his secrets died with the vampire. Tohru didn't feel anything when he pulled the trigger. He never did. Takeshi was just a target. Another mark on his resume. Nothing more.

Standing up and dusting himself off the vampire hunter headed for the stairs. The day had just begun.

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Looks like we survived the apocalypse. So no better time than to raise a story from the dead. So yeah, nothing to say except here's a short chapter for everyone to know I haven't died yet. Enjoy.


	55. Embarrassment 55

Embarrassment 55: Back From the Dead

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Within the darkness and silence of the Maaka Mansion, all but one vampire were asleep. Old Elda Marker stayed up the entire day just waiting for her daughter to come through the door. As the hours passed and the sun rose over the cold city, she began to lose her patience. She still couldn't believe that she had allowed one of her greatest enemies to save her beloved Kanon. Even if he did succeed in bringing her home safely, she still didn't think that a vampire hunter needed anything to do with their family.

Finally, around high noon, just as she was about to give up hope on Keitaro, the front door of the mansion opened slowly. Elda Maaka got out of the chair and headed to entry room just in time to see Kanon disappear up the stairs. She had come in extremely quietly and didn't know that Elda had seen her.

_Looks like the hunter came through,_ she thought to herself. _Good for you._

With Kanon safe at home, Elda decided to head downstairs. She had no reason to bother Kanon right now. Anyways, as far as anyone knew, Kanon had spent the entire night with Keitaro at the festival. She decided to keep it that way. No need to get the family rustled up. But what she didn't realize was that Kanon was deep in tears as she disappeared into her room.

After Kanon had escaped the mansion, it didn't take long for her to find the train station. She barely was able to make it home though with all the tears running down her face. It was enough to catch the attention of everybody who happened to pass her by. She just couldn't believe it. The very idea that Keitaro was gone physically hurt her. She was now short of breath and her heart was pounding but that didn't matter. At this point all she wanted to do was die.

Keitaro was her very being. He was the thing that filled a void in her life. She didn't even care that he had gone feral. She didn't even get the chance to say goodbye.

_God,_ she thought sadly to herself. _Please let this all be a nightmare. Please just let me wake up from this horrible dream._

For hours Kanon continued to cry silently into her pillow. However little did the girl know, Keitaro was still alive. If only just barely. Tohru had seen to that. What Kanon didn't know was that when he had fired upon Keitaro, he had hit the half-blood in the shoulder, just above the heart. The shot would not be good enough to kill a vampire, but it was enough to drop him. Tohru never meant to kill him. He just wanted him out of the way for a short period of time while he dealt with Takeshi. Now that Takeshi was gone, he turned all attention to the teen.

Still keeping the pistol close, Tohru used a cloth to stop the bleeding of the wound. There were no promises that Keitaro was going to be back to normal. But it was worth a shot. It wasn't long before Keitaro stirred in his sleep. There was an extreme pain in his shoulder, but it was nothing to how his head felt. The bullet had basically knocked the sense back into him. But he still felt like the whole world was in a haze, almost as if he had woken from one hundred years of sleep. The first thing he saw when he opened a beady eye was Tohru's cautious smirk.

"What happened?" was the first thing he managed to mutter.

"You just came back from the dead," Tohru replied.

Keitaro didn't seem to have the strength to sit up and he was pretty sure he would throw up if he tried. Instead he closed his eyes. "Did I hurt anybody?"

"You think I would have let you? If you would have, I would have killed you."

"You should have."

"That's not my job, hunter," he said quickly, trying to shut him up before he started moping.

"Tohru…" Keitaro said slowly. "What is your job?"

Tohru starred at him darkly pondering on his options. There was no reason for him to tell Keitaro the truth about him being a vampire hunter as well. And he also didn't need Keitaro to find out that Hotaru Cross was paying Tohru extra to keep an eye on his son and make sure nothing bad happened to him. Hotaru knew that Keitaro was a danger to everyone including himself. And even though the half-blood was no longer part of Cross Organization, Hotaru wanted somebody to keep an eye on him. However, if Keitaro decided to end his own life, Tohru would not be blamed.

_You are more annoying than I could have ever expected,_ Tohru thought to himself. _Definitely not worth the money I was paid._

"Everybody has secrets," Tohru said slyly. "You should consider yourself lucky, Keitaro."

"I wouldn't say lucky," he muttered. "This is the third time I've snapped."

"And each time, you've somehow managed to come back."

Keitaro glared at him. "You put a bullet through my shoulder…"

"You've been hunting feral vampires for quite some time. Many of whom have gotten away after you injuring them. Yet have you ever seen a vampire revert to his old self. Yet somehow you've done it three times now."

"Don't act like you know what you're talking about," he snapped.

But immediately afterword, Keitaro fell silent. As much as he hated to admit it, Tohru was right. Other than a massive headache and a blurred vision, for some unknown reason, Keitaro felt completely normal. This was never heard of even to him.

"Tell me, Keitaro," Tohru said with interest. "What did you see when you snapped? What do you remember?"

Keitaro thought hard. The vision was fresh in his mind. He remembered Takeshi swinging the sword down at him. But after that, nothing but darkness. Or, at least, that's how it started. The next thing Keitaro knew, he was standing in the darkness screaming out to the feral side of him to stop. The voice was louder and clearer than it had ever been before, threatening him and teasing him. He was all alone facing the other him.

"The next thing I knew," Keitaro said darkly. "I was waking up to your ugly face."

Tohru didn't smile. From the look on his face it didn't seem like anything in Keitaro's story gave him an answer. And, for the most part, he didn't care. As long as Keitaro was back to normal, even if for the moment, his job was done.

"Kanon thinks you are dead," he said, with little care in his voice. He looked away from Keitaro when he said this. "I think it's for the best as well. I don't know how long you have left before you snap again. But on behalf of her and the rest of the family, I guess…. I guess I have to say thank you."

Keitaro didn't say anything so he continued.

"I still don't think you should throw in the towel. But I guess it isn't up to me anymore." Tohru stood up and stretched. He put a hand down for Keitaro to grab. Reluctently, the half-blood grabbed it and with all his strength, got up to his feet. "You may be a whiny idiot. But at least you've got some will."

"I honestly don't know what to do yet," he said, smirking slightly. "I didn't expect to live to see another day… You know, I still think you should have killed me. It would have been so much easier for everyone."

"Like I told you, it's not my job. Besides, Kanon is still going to cry, and that is your fault."

Keitaro didn't know what to do. Nothing seemed right to him at this point. Deep in his heart, he knew that Kanon was probably deep in a sea of tears over him. All he really wanted to do was cheer her up. But there was no telling how soon it would be before he snapped again. Right at this moment, Kanon believed he was dead. This was his one and only chance to walk off into the sunset right now and never be seen again. In time, Kanon's heart would heal and she would forget about him. He could end the pain now. But at this point. Taking that final leap was beginning to get harder and harder. Keitaro needed time to think.

As night finally began to fall at the Maaka mansion, members of the family slowly started to wake up. Karin being one of the first. As she passed by Kanon's room on her way downstairs, she poked her head into the room to see her daughter asleep on her bed, still wearing the yukata from the night before. Karin smiled gently for she had no clue where Kanon truly had been the entire night. Nor the fact that she had passed out on her bed exhausted from crying for hours on end.

Karin quietly closed the door, so as not to wake her daughter, and then headed downstairs to grab a snack. But she was surprised to see Tohru already in the kitchen with a bottle of blood in hand. As soon as it was safe, he had left Takeshi's mansion and flew towards the Maaka mansion to make sure Kanon was safe. Keitaro was left alone. When Karin saw him however, she was shocked.

"Tohru," she said, slightly startled. "Where have you been? Ren and Bridget have been looking everywhere for you."

Tohru smirked slightly into his bottle. "Tch, who are you? My mother? I've been doing things."

Karin sighed. "Well, what are you doing here so early?"

He just shook the bottle. "I was thirsty. Don't worry about me, Aunt Karin, I don't plan to stay for long."

With that, he got up from the table and headed up the stairs, leaving a confused Karin alone in the kitchen. After making sure Kanon was truly safe and asleep in her bed he walked into the room. Even to him, walking into a sleeping girl's room, was extremely awkward. But he needed to hand her something. After he left the item he quickly left the room and the mansion altogether. It was time for the vampire to finally go home and spend time with his own family. For the time, his job was complete. What happens next would be up to Kanon.

It was the sounds of the Maaka's making a commotion downstairs that finally awoke Kanon late into the night. Her dried tears had made her face sticky. Her feet were still sore from walking in the snow covered ground to the train station. She had been stupid to leave her Geta behind. And her once beautiful Yukata was now dirty. Even her hair was a mess. Worse of all, looking down at her clothes reminded her that she didn't get to spend her one night with Keitaro.

She was about to start tearing up again when she noticed a note on the floor beside her bed. Curiosity got the better of her as she reached down and picked up the piece of paper. What she read brought tears to her eyes once more.

* * *

So hope you all had a good Christmas... or whatever holiday you celebrate. I wanted to get this out a bit sooner but you know how it is. Anyways, two chapters away from the ending and like always I always fine tune them before posting. So this is your last chance to get some questions answered before I bring it to a close. I would love to see reviews as always and see you soon.


	56. Embarrassment 56

Embarrassment 56: A Vampire Kiss

* * *

Kanon had never felt so much energy before. It hadn't taken her long to change into a new pair of clothes and throw on new shoes, before she was out the door before anybody could say anything. Anju had been walking out of her room just in time to see Kanon pass by in a hurry. She curiously watched as Kanon jumped down the stairs and ran out the door.

Kanon couldn't believe it. The note was written in Keitaro's handwriting. It said that he wasn't dead yet. He wanted to see Kanon just one last time to say goodbye. Kanon didn't have to read any more. She knew exactly where to go.

The hotel was only a few blocks away so it didn't take her long to get there. As she entered the workers at the hotel recognized her face, waving her through. It wasn't until she was inside the elevator and the doors had shut that she finally slowed down to catch her breath. She had no clue what she wanted to say to him. Her mind was racing at this point with all the possibilities.

When the doors finally opened to Keitaro's loft sweet, the first thing she noticed was how dark it was. The curtains on the windows were drawn tightly shut, not allowing any of the moonlight to flood in. She would have thought the place to be empty but her vampire blood was acting up.

"Keitaro?" she said hesitantly, stepping into the room cautiously. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust. "Keitaro?You in here?"

Finally, she made out him sitting in the bedroom. He was slumped at the foot of the bed. She couldn't make out anything else about him. When he heard her call his name though, he looked up weakly and smiled. Kanon almost broke out in tears, running up to hug him. She nearly knocked him over in the rush.

"Ouch," he said pushing her away slightly.

She followed his gaze to his bare chest, where he had wraps around his shoulder where Tohru had shot him.

"I'm sorry," she said immediately. "I tried to stop him."

"Don't be," Keitaro said, breathing heavy. He sounded extremely tired. "He was the one who brought me back."

"But you're okay now, right?" she wondered, still teary eyed.

Keitaro sighed. "I don't think so. Tohru only delayed it. I can already hear the voices in my head."

He could tell he was scaring her. He didn't mean to do it, but he wasn't lying to her. After TohruMaaka had left, it wasn't long before the dark voice had started teasing him again. Even right now, he was having a hard time paying attention to what Kanon was saying. He couldn't help but smell the aromas that were coming off of her. The idea alone made him want to throw up.

Kanon stared at him sadly. She could see it too. That's when she noticed that his pistol was lying on the floor next to him. He followed her wide eye gaze to it.

"You aren't thinking of doing anything are you?" she asked cautiously. "We can get you help. Somebody has to be able to help."

"You know that's not going happen. I have to end this tonight."

"No!" Kanon replied. She immediately wrapped her arms around him again, despite his shoulder. She was so close to him, yet all he noticed was her sweet scent. "Please don't give up now! I need you!"

Keitaro clenched his eyes tightly shut, trying desperately to cut out her smell. He could feel his fangs increasing in size by the moment. The voice was practically screaming at him to bite her. He took a deep breath and pushed Kanon off him gently. Fighting the urge was almost unbearable but when he saw the tears in Kanon's eyes, he snapped to his senses. If only for the moment.

"Kanon, I'm sorry for everything," he said. "I'm sorry for lying to you about….. about everything. You trusted me with everything and I've let you down. But I can't fight it anymore. If we don't end this now… I just don't want the same thing that happened earlier to happen again. I don't want you to have to see me like this."

He lifted up a trembling hand and brushed the tears away from her cheek.

"You've done so much for me," she said softly. "and yet all I am is a burden to you. I don't want to see you go. It's because of me that you are like this….. So take my blood."

Keitaro's eyes went wide the moment he realized what she was saying. He hadn't expected her to ever think of something like this.

"I couldn't…." he started.

"I'm the Pushuke," Kanon continued. "My blood does things that nobody else's does. I was even able to awaken my mother's powers. Maybe it'll help you too."

"You don't understand what you're asking me to do."

Kanon nodded. "I want you to bite me, Keitaro. When I was dying, you let me drink your blood. You kept me alive. I want to return the favor."

Keitaro eyed her neck like a person dying of thirst. He could feel his aching fangs just aching to be used. However he still fought any urges. This was Kanon, the girl he would literally die for. He couldn't bear to think about hurting her.

"I won't do it," he said, looking away from her.

However, what Kanon did next, threw him off guard. She came in close to him and kissed him on the cheek. Smiling gently, she put her head on his shoulder, hugging him tightly. Her neck was exposed to him and so close that he couldn't help but smell her. She knew that it would get to him.

"I would do anything for you," she said, closing her eyes.

Keitaro eyed her neck with painful eyes. All he could hear was her trembling heart as it beat in her chest. He knew that she was scared. Hell, she was terrified. But not nearly as scared as she was to losing was at such a loss for words. This whole time, he had been trying his best to keep far away from her. He could never imagine biting her on the neck. But here she was, waiting for him to sink his teeth into her neck.

Her aromas filled his nostrils and he started to sweat. He couldn't hold it in anymore. But this time, it wasn't the voices in his head that he was following. It was his heart. Taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth and bit down on Kanon's neck.

As his long fangs pierced her neck, she let out a slight shudder. It was painful, and he could feel her clenching tightly onto his shoulder. But she held herself steady. The taste was unlike anything else. For a few moments, Keitaro was lost in a sea of ecstasy. The warm blood flowed down his dry throat, refreshing him like no other. He even forgot that it was Kanon for just a few moments.

"I love you," Kanon whispered, hugging him tighter.

Keitaro couldn't see it, but there was a smile on her teary eyed face. Hours later, Keitaro sat on the edge of the bed, staring out the window at the night sky. Behind him, Kanon was asleep in the bed. He held back his feral instinct to completely drain her. But it had been enough to knock her unconscious. He had been careful, lifting her up and putting her under the blankets. Since then, he had been staring off into the dark.

"What have I done," he muttered to himself with disgust. "I've become the monster I fear most."

"And what is wrong with that?" a voice said from the doorway.

Keitaro turned quickly to see none other than Kanon in the doorway. Confused, he looked to the bed where Kanon lay right now.

"Who are you?" Keitaro asked her.

The Kanon in the doorway smirked. Something about the way she held herself was different from the Kanon he knew.

"I am the thing that you care about most in the world," she said, coming in and standing in front of the window. "It's no surprise that you would see me as KanonUsui. Don't think too much into it. I'm just glad that I finally got to talk to you in person."

"I don't understand…" Keitaro said calmly.

"You've been fighting this battle for months now," she said, smiling. "Yet here you are, still breathing. Even I am amazed."

"I've gotten lucky," he said.

"I'm sure you are. The luckiest person in the needs somebody like you and she was even willing to kill herself to save you." She paused. "I can't let that happen. You have to stick around and protect her from the world. Can you do that for me?"

"What about me going feral?" Keitaro wondered. "I don't want to hurt her."

"That's what I love about you Kei…" she said. Without warning she leaned in a kissed the hunter on the forehead. As she stood back up she was smiling. "No matter how bad things get, you always seem to pull through."

Keitaro suddenly felt woozy. The last thing he remembered was staring up at her smiling face. The next thing he knew, he fell backwards onto the bed. Everything went black. For the first time in what felt like ages, he actually slept well.

* * *

So all that's left is the epilogue. Short sweet and Long overdue.


	57. Epilogue

Epilogue

* * *

It had been about a week since the mess at Takeshi's manor. But since then, everything had finally calmed down. Elda kept the whole matter to herself, and as far as Kanon was aware, nobody had known she was gone. She felt it was better not to spoil the mood, especially with Anju's wedding just around the corner.

As for Keitaro, everything seemed normal from him. Everything just felt like a bad dream for him. And when he had awoken the next morning, he felt better than ever. The first thing he had scene was Kanon's smiling face. He gave her a smile back as well as a kiss. It was almost as if nothing had ever happened.

For the next few days, Keitaro stayed away from Kanon. Not because he wanted to. But he wanted to make sure there were no more problems. The voices were gone, and except for a few slight headaches every once and a while, he was back to his old self. He had taken to drinking blood at least once a night though, like a normal vampire.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the day came that they were to get back together again. It was Christmas eve and Tokyo was bustling with people. Keitaro had awoken early that day, following his normal routine. He had a few hours to kill before Kanon got off shift at the bakery, so he decided to stop by a local coffee shop. While there, he figured it was time to call his father.

"Hello, Father," Keitaro said, leaning back in the chair. "Merry Christmas."

"Glad to see you are still breathing son," the voice said from the other line. "Merry Christmas to you to."

"Everything seems back to normal here. But I've decided to come back to work."

"You don't have to if you don't want to..."

Keitaro smiled. "I promised somebody that things would go back to the way they were. I intend on keeping that promise."

Just then another person sat down across from the table. Keitaro looked up at him confused when he noticed the man was an American with a scar above his left eye. Keitaro immediately recognized him.

"Father," he said, smile slowly fading. "I'm gonna have to let you go."

He hung up immediately and starred the man down. There was a smile on his face as they looked at each other.

"I take it you still remember me, Cross," the man said in slightly broken Japanese. "And still as hostile as the last time we crossed paths."

"What are you doing in Japan?" Keitaro wondered.

"Just making sure you hadn't killed anyone," he replied. "I've got to say. I've seen a lot of interesting subjects. But you are by far the most amazing."

"I don't know what you are talking about." Keitaro didn't like the idea of this man being here. "How long have you been following me?"

"Almost a month now. You know, for a second there, I thought you were going to be like everyone else. So many half-breeds give up on life so soon. But you don't disappoint."

"Well as you can see, I'm not feral anymore," Keitaro said, still trying to figure this man out. "You can go back home now."

"Yes, I can see that. But I wonder, do you even know why you haven't gone feral?" He could immediately tell that Keitaro had no clue. But that was mostly because he didn't think about it anymore. This made the man smile even brighter. "It wasn't because of the Pushuke's blood. And yes, I know about that. But it is because you found something more important to you than death. You held on when so many half-bloods before you had given in."

"How do you know so much?" Keitaro wondered.

"Because..." he started. "Because I am much like you, Keitaro Cross. I am the thing you had been chasing after for years. And we have all been keeping a close eye on you."

"You are a half-vampire?" Keitaro said, wide eyed. "That's impossible..."

"You didn't honestly think that I was a vampire hunter, did you?" the man wondered, showing his fangs in his mouth. "You've been searching for us for a long time. But half-vampires do exist. There aren't many who don't end up feral. We keep quiet because there are those out there, who would do us harm."

"So what now?" Keitaro wondered.

"Now, we go our own separate ways," the man said standing up. "I only came here to congratulate you and warn you that if you plan on remaining like this, keep the thing you hold dear close to you. As long as you have something to fight for, you won't ever have to worry about going feral. Good day, Mr. Cross. We shall meet again soon."

Keitaro just sat there, amazed as the half-blood walked away, leaving him alone at the coffee shop. Just then, he remember Tohru telling him that a half-vampire had been following him. Now it all made sense.

After that one incident, the rest of the day seemed to go smoothly. After Keitaro had finished at the coffee shop he went back to the hotel to change into something much nicer. He made it to the Bakery just in time to see Kanon coming out. She looked just as beautiful as she did the first day he saw her. Immediately forgetting the half-vampire, he ran up to Kanon and hugged her.

"I missed you so much," Kanon said smiling.

"I missed you too." He then noticed the two pin holes on the side of her neck. Cautiously he touched them. "Do they hurt?"

She just smiled. "I forgot that they were even there."

That was all that needed to be said. Kanon didn't want to think about Keitaro's feral days. As far as she knew, at this very moment, he was fine. That's all that mattered.

"So it's still Christmas Eve," Keitaro said, shivering in the cold. "Want to go say hi to your family?"

"What about Elda being there?" Kanon wondered. "She still hasn't gone back to sleep."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," he reassured her. "Elda and I have patched things up."

He didn't want to tell her that Elda knew about the whole Takeshi scene. The two of them went to the Maaka mansion, hand in hand. What they didn't notice was that on top of the bakery behind them, Tohru Maaka was sitting and watching, with a flask of blood in his hand.

"Merry Christmas, cousin," he said softly, before taking a swig from the flask. Just then, his phone vibrated. He looked down at it and smiled. "Looks like I'll be working tonight."

Not a mile away, Anju and her suitor were walking through the park. Anju had spent the night in a hotel with the vampire and they had left as soon as the sun had gone down. The suitor seemed happy, but Anju was still quiet.

"You know," the vampire said after almost five minutes of silence. "I get the feeling that you don't like me, Anju."

She didn't reply.

"If you don't want to get married to me, you should just say something. You shouldn't drag me around like this all the time."

Anju was miles away in her head. She hardly heard what he had said. The fact that she didn't even acknowledge his existence was starting to get on his nerves. It had been like this all night. He had invited her to a love hotel to have a little fun. And she barely said a word the entire time she was there. She was always staring off into space. They ended up just going to sleep.

Just then, Anju saw a familiar face. A younger looking boy walked past her with books in his hands. He seemed in a hurry and didn't even notice the two vampires in the park with him. Anju smiled slightly.

"Akihiko," she muttered. Saying his name seemed to bring a smile to her face. She turned to the vampire suitor. "I'm sorry. You are right. But I don't think I'm ready to settle down yet."

"But..." the suitor said. "The wedding..."

Anju turned her back to him. "The wedding was your idea in the first place. You and I wouldn't go well together."

"You can't be single forever..."

A smirk came across the girls face. The last time she had heard that, it was her sister lecturing her. But when this suitor said it, she finally knew the answer to give him.

"The vampire race will survive if one vampire decides to stay single..."

With that, she summoned down some bats and took off into the night, leaving the upset vampire alone in the park. She didn't feel all too bad for him. She didn't even learn his name. Sure, the family would yell at her. But her mind was made up. She just didn't feel like falling in love.

Anju arrived at the front door of the Maaka mansion just as Kanon and Keitaro showed up. She bowed gracefully before them before heading inside.

"She seems in a good mood," Keitaro noted.

"She must have had a good night with her future husband," Kanon replied.

"I'll be honest, I never expected her to find a suitor."

Kanon giggled. "Aunt Anju is always full of surprises."

Just before they entered the Maaka mansion, Keitaro turned to Kanon and leaned in, kissing her on the lips. For the first time in his life, Keitaro didn't have a worry in the world. He felt like things were gonna be smooth from here on out. Hand in hand, a vampire hunter and a half-vampire entered the Maaka mansion to spend Christmas with the rest of the family.

* * *

It has been such a long time since I started Chibi Vampire. It was the first manga I ever read. Since then so much has happened. I went to Japan, got Married, and even got my own place. Almost thought I wasn't going to finish the series. And now that this one is finished I'm a bit sad to see it go. I take as much pride in this series as I do my own books that I got published. If you didn't notice, I put a bit in here that could foreshadow a sequel. But I'm not sure about making one yet. I need to get back to work on my own novels. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. If you stuck till the end, please don't hesitate to give me your review on it. Thanks and Good Night.


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